Definition of Pride
by Moonraker One
Summary: Goku has always lived an idyllic life. What happens when a Saiyan elite arrives, giving him news that the mighty empire will be reborn? Will he choose his calm life or his pride? THE CHICHI INFIDELITY SCENE IS JUST A NIGHTMARE! I SWEAR! COMPLETED.
1. Chapter One

The Definition of Pride

By Moonraker One

Note: Kelietya comes from my other story, _The Ward_.

            For billions of years, there have been Saiyans that were far beyond the rest of their species. These were the Saiyans that, through much training, achieved oneness of the soul and a higher level of existence. They were even greater than the Super Saiyans of legend, having achieved Holy Saiyan status.  With their newfound power, they grew to be far less evil than their normal, lesser counterparts. Over time, however, they had such ability that they were no longer accepted among their own kind. They were still allowed to live amongst their own people until Emperor Kilmar the third, who had the lot of them banded together and exterminated. He succeeded in eliminating the Saiyans that were even beyond the Super Saiyan status. Or did he…

            Chapter one – Two Saiyans, A Namek, and bunch of Low-Levels

            Such a wonderful life, Goku had. Despite all the evil he'd faced, he still was able to love his family and continue his ordinary existence on the little blue planet called Earth. He had friends, allies, and a nice place to live. He couldn't dream of what he'd do if he had to leave it all behind. He snapped out of his little daydream just in time to dodge a fist from Piccolo, who frowned in disgust at his battle partner's sudden lax.

            "Why aren't you fighting?" Piccolo asked, demandingly. "I thought you serious about your training!"

            Goku shook his head. "It's not that," Goku replied. "I just can't stop thinking about how lucky of a guy I am to be able to live a peaceful life. Some people aren't given such luck."

            Piccolo let out a sigh. "That's true, Goku," he said, frustrated. "But I think your mind right now is supposed to be on this little bout we have going here!"

            "Yeah, I guess so."

            Even as he took up stance again, Goku couldn't take his mind off of the thought he'd been having for a while now. It was the thought that something or someone was coming, and he couldn't put the idea aside. It was like a dog nagging him to be taken outside; he couldn't keep ignoring it like he had been. But he couldn't feel any strange ki, so what could be awaiting him? He simply waited for it, hoping whatever it was, it would be friendly.

            That afternoon, he seemed distant and very quiet at the dinner table, which was extremely unlike him. He was usually the first to dive into his food, shoveling it deep into his mouth, but today he just pecked at it. Chi-Chi was the first to notice, and the first to become concerned.

            "Goku!?" she said, partially a shriek. "I know something's wrong. Tell me right now what it is!"

            Good old Chi-Chi. Sometimes her abruptness and overreaction can help. Like now, to bring his words out easier.

            "If I told you, I doubt you'd believe me," he replied.

            "You're getting sick aren't you?!" she yelled. "WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE TOLD ME YOU WERE DYING!?"

            "ENOUGH!" he screeched, amazing even himself that he was capable of yelling at his wife. "I am NOT dying!"

            Hearing his sudden outburst, she sat down and began to speak quietly. "What's the matter, then?"

            He slightly shook his head. "I…I just don't know how to put this," he said, thinking of his words very carefully. "I just feel like…I haven't accomplished something in my life. Something for ME."

            She raised an eyebrow in confusion; this is from the kid who once went from day to day not concerned about tomorrow? This was her husband, who saved the world countless times before? How could he ever have to "accomplish" something to feel complete in his life?

            "You don't mean you're leaving me," she said, causing him to look up. She could tell the look on his face seemed to say, "I'm not going there."

            He raised an eyebrow of his own. "Why the hell would I do something like that?!" he exclaimed, his voice carrying slightly. "I love you! I just need to do something."

            "What would you need to do?"

            Her question caused him to smile jokingly. "That's the stupid part," he replied. "I don't have a darn clue." His words came to confuse even him; he'd always had everything he'd ever need. He had something that most people never get: a nice home, a loving wife, and two wonderful sons. Feeling obligated by her facial expressions, he quickly ate his food then left the table. He took off his GI and went up stairs for a shower. After removing his clothes and letting the mildly warm water run over him, he stared at the patterns of light refractions for what seemed like hours, all the while contemplating his existence. He'd saved what seemed to be trillions of people over the years; what could anyone need to prove after all of that? Even he didn't quite understand.

            Sleep, the only thing that he thought could ease the storm on his mind, seemed to come very difficultly. Even with his love next to him, he couldn't catch the zz's he needed. Sensing a problem, Chi-Chi touched his cheek.

            "You've always been the voice of reason," she said, a hint of worry audible in her tone. "What bug have you caught now?"

            He shook his head and got out of bed. He quickly donned his orange and blue GI, and exited through the window. "I'll be back soon, Chi-Chi," he reassured her. Upon his flight into the distance, she herself sat up in bed. Just like her husband, a billion worries on her mind, all of them related to how his mind was and what exactly was wrong with him. He was the LAST person who would cheat on her, so what could possibly be wrong with him? It was overwhelming the condition he was in; she didn't know how she'd live if he decided she couldn't make him happy anymore.

            In the air, he felt an uneasy calmness, one that didn't usually come. Also, he felt a strange ki in the air; it felt exactly like Vegeta's except, it seemed…milder. He'd never felt it before. Vegeta's ki was always angry and drawn. Now it felt as though he was trying to signal someone-possibly Goku himself-as if they were the only person on Earth he wanted to be in the presence of. Not willing to displease, Goku flew at top speed to Vegeta's location.

            "I thought you'd get here, Kakarot," he said in response to Goku's sudden arrival. "I could tell you were worried about something."

            Goku sat down on the rock next to the Saiyan Prince. "I just don't know, Vegeta, but I can't help but feel…like I need to finish something," Goku explained.

            Vegeta smirked. "Yup," he replied. "I've definitely felt that feeling."

            Goku turned to him suddenly. "So, how do you handle it?"

            Vegeta looked back at the third-class. "I keep telling myself it's no better than this anywhere else," he explained. "I say that this is the life everyone dreams of, and nobody wants."

            Goku, as was his perpetual state, was confused. "What do you mean?"

            "Think about it, Kakarot," he replied. "Everyone wants a wife and kids, but no one wants the hassles."

            Goku looked down. "They've never been hassles to me," was the reply. "I've always been happy. How come I'm not now?"

            "Sorry, our time's up," Vegeta said, mimicking the movements of a professional counselor. He then flew away.

            "Oh thank you much, Vegeta!" Goku sarcastically replied. He should have known that Vegeta wasn't going to get much more into detail than that, but for some reason he had hoped he would. He figured that the Saiyan prince knew exactly what was going through his own head enough so that he could help Goku out a bit, but why would the arrogant prince do such a thing? Nope. It was destined not to happen.

            He really didn't know what was destined to happen. He looked up and thought he saw a slight disturbance in the air, but shook it off as his imagination. Even though he didn't know why he was feeling the way he was, he headed back home to probably not sleep the whole night through, but still had to try. He knew how much his wife was used to overreaction, so he would have to try his best to act normal, hopefully to get his wife to yell at him and thus forget all about his problem.

            "Is everything going to schedule?" asked Kelietya, angry at her servants' lack of desire to work. "You know I don't tolerate slow workers."

            Her commander ran up to the base of the small staircase leading to her seat. He put his fist in front of his heart in the typical salute fashion. "I…I'm sorry, ma'am!" he said, an audible worry on his voice. "I hold myself personally accountable for the holdup!"

            One quick finger movement and she blasted his right arm off. "I want action! NOW!" she yelled, catching everyone's attention. They, who previously had been slacking off, quickly got to attention and began working much faster.

            "This is how I like my servants," she replied. Her commander smiled and walked out of the chamber, where he rapidly regenerated his arm. As he walked towards the main engine room, he pondered how he came to serve Kelietya. He had been the Great Elder's personal guardian back on his home planet of Namek, before she showed up and brought him aboard. It's not that he hated serving her, it was just that she became demanding. He probably would never understand why, but she was nice and cheery and then progress slowed down and she got pissed very easily.

            Once he reached the main engine room, he looked over at the workers furiously working to land the spaceship while still keeping it cloaked. The cloaking device was a marvel of interstellar travel; with it you could be stronger than a super Saiyan and no one could sense you because the ship and everything in it was completely cloaked. He scanned the progress of the workers as he strolled by them; it was his job to make sure everyone was doing their job just as they were supposed to. He was amazed by the level of teamwork among the servants; these were beings that were so different from anyone around them, yet they worked together and were friends and it was just incredible. Not since leaving Namek had he experienced such a degree of brotherhood.

            "Commander Teneko!" a voice over the loudspeaker announced. "Report to the general's chamber immediately!"

            Ah, it was Kelietya again. She always needed him for something; he just didn't know what it was this time. Not wanting to displease a Saiyan, he ran as quickly as he could to the main quarters he had just left. Inside, Kelietya was finishing off the last bit of her kerbango and stood up from her seat.

            "Now we're ready to disengage the cloaking mechanism and exit to the planet," she explained. "Prepare a reconnaissance fleet to search the planet for dangers."

            He placed his hand in front of his heart for the salute. "Yes, ma'am!" he replied, standing at attention.

            What a beautiful morning it had been. Goku got up with the sunlight, and was in the lake for his breakfast. He had been feeling a bit weird the night before, but obviously a good night's rest did him a world of good; he no longer felt the need to ponder his existence. It was quite incredible; one night of rest healed a mental wound that was nagging at him. The surroundings about him were all the fulfillment he'd ever need.

            It was like a pop. In an instant, right as he was about to grab a fish, he felt a bunch of new ki signatures pop out of nowhere. It seemed strange to him, but ki signs don't pop out of midair; he should have felt them as they approached the planet. Either they literally materialized from thin air, or they were suddenly created. And being the experienced warrior he was, he was banking on the former. On his way to the new ki, he saw all of his allies approach him.

            "You feel it too?" asked a nervous Krillin. "They seem huge, and they just came from nowhere!"

            Goku nodded. "I know," he replied. "Ki doesn't just pop up that quickly. Even if they teleported, we should have felt them as they were coming."

            "Just make sure you leave them to me!" demanded an angry Vegeta, in typical Prince style. "If there's a fight, let me take care of it."

            "I'm sure you'll get your chance," Goku said, rolling his eyes sarcastically. Honestly, he couldn't understand how Vegeta could be so eager that he wouldn't feel how powerful they are.

            One by one, the Z senshi arrived at the site of the spaceship as it rapidly appeared from behind an invisible field of energy. A rather large staircase descended from the open door of the ship-the ship, which was easily big enough to house an entire species about a million strong-allowing a few thousand soldiers to flock from the ship. Behind them were two medium-level Pekorian warriors, directly in front of a rather powerful looking Namek.

            Goku stood in front of the z senshi. "What do you want with our planet?" he said in a demanding tone.

            The Namek proceeded down the staircase, the soldiers stepping to the side as he walked. "We want nothing with your planet," he replied. "We have no business with Earth. We only want any Saiyans on this planet to come with us and witness the rebirth of the mighty Saiyan empire."

            Vegeta stomped forward, angrily approaching the Namekian. "How would YOU know about the mighty Saiyan empire, Namek?" he boomed.

            "Do not challenge me, Prince Vegeta," he warned. "Or you will find that I am a Super Namek. I am even beyond your level of power."

            Vegeta leaned back a bit, taken by surprise that a being of Namek would know his name. "Where'd you learn my name?"

            "From my master," was Teneko's reply. "She's taught me everything I need to know about Saiyans."

            Vegeta smirked. "Who's your master!?" he said, a tone of disbelief in his voice.

            A voice descending from the ship replied, "I am."

            Vegeta's eyes grew wide as he saw the female descending from the ship. She had Raditz's hair except it was dark blue; could she really be who he was thinking?

            "C…Colonel Kelietya!?" He shrieked nervously.

            "General Kelietya," she corrected. "I could have taken the throne of the Saiyan Empire if I wanted to, but the laws prevented me from trying. When your father learned how powerful I was, he promoted me."

            "I was told he killed you," Vegeta replied.

            "Tried," she corrected again. "He couldn't kill someone who was thirty thousand at their weakest."

            "You're gonna rebuild the mighty Saiyan empire!?" he scoffed, hoping to catch her off-guard.

            She turned to Teneko. "See if he's worthy of being our leader," she ordered. He nodded and faced his opponent, who was more than willing to fight. Instantly, Vegeta charged up to Super Saiyan and hurled a fist at Teneko. The Namek lifted his hand and effortlessly caught the fist in midair. Vegeta was not ready for the Namek not to be killed instantly. Teneko threw a fist of his own at the Saiyan, blasting him back at least past Goku. Goku himself was impressed; Teneko had instantly gone from normal power to intense battle-level power, and blocked a punch, all in less than a nanosecond. It was something he was barely capable of, even.

            Kelietya sighed, disgusted. "Unworthy of leading such a mighty empire," she said of Vegeta's lack of ability. "If you can't beat a Super Namek, how do you expect to defeat a Holy Saiyan such as myself?"

            Vegeta glared at her angrily. "How DARE you!?" He shrieked. "I was born of royal blood!"

            She rolled her eyes. "What makes you think I care?!" she replied. "Is that supposed to make me automatically obey you?"

            Goku, who had witnessed the entire short-lived battle, stepped forward. "So, what you're doing is looking for someone to lead your new Saiyan empire?" he asked, hoping to get her to explain her true intentions.

            She looked at him expectantly. "So, you think you are worthy of leading my new, invincible empire?" she replied, sizing up his skill as she stood.

            "I've never been a leader," he responded. "I just want to see how good of a fighter you are."

            Kelietya scoffed as she listened to his words. "**Me**!?" she exclaimed. "You want to see how good **I** am?!"

            Teneko stepped forward. "I'll take this one on," he reassured her. "If he wants to lead our empire, he'll have to get through me."

            Goku was no idiot; he knew exactly how powerful Teneko was even before the Namek knew himself. Instantly, he charged up to Super Saiyan two, making sure his power was at its maximum for that state. The Namekian charged him at top speed, taking Goku by surprise even at this level of power. A well-placed foot almost landed itself across the Saiyan's face as he quickly moved to deliver an uppercut to the Namekian's chest. The fist was blocked an inch from its destination just in time for the Namek to receive a kick to the side of the head. It only startled him enough to give Goku time for an attack. Sensing an opening, he delivered twelve punches to the chest and face in furious succession. Goku then attempted a finishing blow to the face, which Teneko threw to the side with a burst of ki from his mouth. He quickly landed an upward punch to Goku's gut, forcing the powerful Earth Saiyan backwards.

            "You're awesome," Goku said, spitting some blood out.

            Teneko replied, "You're the second most powerful Saiyan I've ever fought, next to Kelietya." Teneko knew what he was saying. He'd fought Saiyans that were incredibly powerful, but this one was more intense than they were. In all his four hundred years, he'd never fought someone so powerful. He quickly regenerated the damage to his ribs, then continued the assault.

            Goku's eyes widened as a flying kick slammed with the force of a comet straight into his chest, nearly shattering his ribs. He could easily feel that at least two of his ribs were cracked, and this was only the first part of the attack. The second included a sweep kick that had Goku falling on his back, but before he could hit the ground, he was sent upwards with a powerful upward kick. As he sailed upward, his flight was abruptly cancelled by a swift downward axe-handle smash that sent him plummeting in the opposite direction. Everyone in the immediate vicinity shielded themselves from the flying dirt and debris from his impact with the ground.

            Teneko smiled as his foe stood up. "I can't believe you survived that," he said, "but I don't think you have much more left."

            Goku winced and forced a teasing smile through the pain. "Oh, I think you'd be surprised," he replied.

            With a sudden yell and a burst of power, he managed to reach his near-apex of power; Super Saiyan three. His increase in ability caught Teneko completely off-guard. The Namek was not expecting such a drastic increase in power from a Saiyan whose ribs he knew were suffering from the kick he gave. Goku turned to his opponent and hurled a knee at Teneko's stomach with all of his might, expecting to send the Namek warrior far with a blow to the gut. Instead, he found Teneko to be struggling with all his might to hold back the knee, which he was managing with both hands. Amazed that Teneko still had enough power to block the knee shot, Goku was caught defenseless for a half-second, just enough of a break to allow the Namek to dodge another fist sent his way. Another shot sent to his chin was much faster, however, and Teneko found himself with a cracked jaw. Goku whirled around and delivered a roundhouse to Teneko's head, sending him sailing backward, just stopping barely short of hitting the ship.

            He tried to dodge another knee to the chest, but it landed perfectly and broke all of his ribs in a neat pattern. Goku let up as a small pulse of blood came shooting from the Namekian's injured mouth. Believing the fight was over, Goku backed up, but kept his power up.

            Teneko rapidly regenerated the injuries he suffered and said, "You are truly a Saiyan worthy of ruling our empire, but this fight isn't over yet." With that, he hastily took off the amulet dangling from a necklace draped around his neck. Sensing a possible power increase, Goku flew forward, hoping to catch the Namek before he could get stronger. It was, however, too late. A single scream later and Teneko was at least twenty million higher in power.

            Goku found himself the victim of a single upward punch to the gut, which drove all the wind out of the mighty Super Saiyan three. Completely in disbelief that he could be defeated at Super Saiyan three, Goku tried to ponder how he could lose, just as he fell unconsciously to the ground. Teneko brushed himself off, then powered down by putting the necklace back on. He grimaced as the amulet forcefully lowered his power back down to what it was before the fight with Goku. Kelietya smiled menacingly as she lifted the unconscious Saiyan onto her shoulders.

            "What do you think of Kakarot?" she asked her commander. "Was this his best?"

            Teneko shook his head worriedly. "No. I could tell he was capable of at least Super Saiyan four, possibly S.S.4 max power," he replied.

            She raised an eyebrow. "Then…how did you defeat him?" she asked, thinking his words made no sense.

            He smiled. "I caught him before he could power up to his max," Teneko replied proudly.

            When Goku woke up he was inside of a room. The room was bright and inviting-looking, with décor and everything you wouldn't expect in an alien spaceship. His typical clothes were repaired from his battle with Kelietya's commander, and all of his friends were there. None of them appeared worried, and all of them appeared to be in good condition.

            "W…where am I?" Goku asked, his blurry vision coming back into clarity.

            Krillin smiled as he helped his friend to his feet. "We're in Kelietya's spaceship," he replied. "We decided that if you were going, we were going with you."

            Vegeta had one thing on his mind. "Kakarot!" He screeched. "How could YOU of all Saiyans lose to a Namek?!" From the seat next to him, Piccolo slapped Vegeta on the side of the head and shot him an evil look.

            Goku smiled good-humoredly. "He got to me before I could hit Super Saiyan four," was Goku's humored response.

            The large metal door slid open, the commander's large Namekian presence behind it. Teneko was big AND powerful. Usually, big means a lack in speed. Goku, however, knew better; just because the Namek was bigger than Piccolo and twice as muscular, didn't mean he was slow. He shot the commander a look of eagerness for a rematch, which was responded to by a similar look back at him.

            "How are you doing, people of Earth?" asked Teneko. "General Kelietya has asked me to inform you that we are on our way to Planet Saiya."

            Vegeta popped up. On his face was a look of complete shock. "Y…You found planet SAIYA!?" he announced.

            "Yes, we have," replied Teneko. "It is official. We are going to restart the Saiyan empire on the planet that Saiyans were created on before they left."

            After saying that, Teneko turned to exit the room, before Goku stopped him.

            "Teneko," he asked, "you seem older than you look. How old are you?"

            "About four hundred years," replied the young-looking old Namek. "Give or take ten."

            Goku was impressed again. "H…how do you stay young?"

            "You'll find out yourself, Kakarot," he responded. "The secret is that Kelietya is able to give people eternal youth." Having said that, he shut the door behind him, hoping that once they got to Saiya they'd have a rematch.


	2. Chapter Two

The Definition of Pride

By Moonraker One

Chapter two -  Civilian Drop-Off & Pick-up

            Vegeta smiled to himself as the ship flew onwards towards Saiya. He could not believe that someone outside his own bloodline found the legendary planet on which the Saiyans were first created trillions of years ago. His own father, who ruled most of the galaxy, had searched endlessly for it, never to any avail. He himself had heard the legend of the birthplace of the Saiyans and how if you live there, you're supposed to become empowered. It was something to do with the gods or something of that nature. The fool Kakarot sitting next to him had no clue of the glory he and the other Saiyans were in for now that they were headed back to the planet on which they were destined to rule the entire galaxy from. He also couldn't believe that Kakarot had been chosen over him to rule the mighty Saiyan empire, and it made him feel worthless that he should be second to a third-class warrior who was not born of such a high standing as Vegeta himself was. Damn; Kelietya was holding all the cards, whether he liked it or not. If anyone here was making decisions, it would be her. He couldn't imagine how powerful she was if she really was a Holy Saiyan. He'd only heard of the Kilmar executions and how the holies were eliminated from Planet Vegeta.

            Goku had on his mind a sense of being needed now that he was on his way to the legendary planet of his race. He had never had a chance to actually lead a people, so what kind of rigors were in store for him? He couldn't ask Vegeta; Vegeta would take such an action quite badly. He didn't want to risk asking Kelietya either; she was easily powerful enough to make any decisions for the Saiyans, and as powerful as she was, it was not a good idea to go against her will. He knew how powerful she really was; he didn't think Vegeta or anyone else knew, but he certainly did. She was easily as powerful as him at Super Saiyan four, perhaps even farther than that. Despite the fact that he was good, he never quite liked someone being more powerful than him, ever. No matter what, he always had a sense of need to surpass people, even though it wasn't as dire as Vegeta's.

            The ship lurched forward a bit, slowing down quite suddenly. Everyone was taken by surprise, because no one was braced for impact. When the commotion was finished, Krillin reached up and pressed the button on the communicator. "What the heck happened?!" He shrieked nervously.

            "We're arriving, Mister Krillin," the voice replied. "The final landing procedure is commencing. I assure you, you will enjoy your stay on Planet Saiya."

                Krillin turned to his friend and battle partner. "So Goku," he said, trying to stir up a conversation. "What do you think of this whole situation?"

            Goku gathered his thoughts for a minute. "I really wasn't brought along by my own will," he replied. "But I really don't think that Kelietya or her servants are intending to do something evil."

            Krillin cracked a smile. "How'd you figure that?" he said in response.

            Goku shrugged. "I didn't feel any malice from either of them."

            Krillin rolled his eyes; he should have expected such a response from Goku. In a few seconds after the initial forward lurch, the ship made a sliding rumble, indicating that they had landed on planet Saiya. The huge metal door at the entrance to the room they were in slid open slowly, revealing a lesser Pekorian who was a servant to Kelietya. The servant bowed with his right arm pointing left. "This way, lord Kakarot," he replied. "If you'd be so kind as to follow me, you'll exit the ship and be on the new home planet of the mighty Saiyan empire."

            As the group exited the ship, Vegeta turned to the servant and joked, "She doesn't pay you enough, does she?"

            The little Pekorian smiled, embarrassed, and replied, "Not nearly enough, Lord Vegeta."

            Piccolo was stopped as he tried to leave. "E…excuse me, Lord Piccolo," said the servant, wincing, as though he were about to be destroyed. "I hate to stop you, but, Commander Teneko would like to speak with you."

            Piccolo proceeded down the hall, following a separate Pekorian servant to Commander Teneko's chamber. The hallways were decorated with the paintings of previous members of Kelietya's family. It seemed weird, but all the other members of her bloodline were male, and they all looked vastly different from her. He couldn't understand how people of the same blood could look so far apart, or how she could be only one female of a few dozen males in the same line. He shook it off; everything was abnormal with this place, he felt.

            The chamber to the large Namekian commander's room was imposing-looking. And for good reason; the Namekian himself was imposing-looking. A Namek that was close to seven feet and at least three times as muscular as Piccolo himself was quite a sight to behold. Piccolo may have never been to Namek but a few times, but he was sure that a Namek this powerful never did exist; it would have been too conspicuous. He realized it really didn't matter as the huge door slid open and he stepped in the room.

            "What did you want to talk to me about?" asked Piccolo.

            The big Namek paced back and forth. "I have a question for you," Teneko asked. "You've been around Kakarot longer than anyone else here. In your opinion, is he capable of being a good king to this new empire?"

            "In a word, yes," replied Piccolo. "If anyone was fit to rule anyone, Goku is capable. Whether he's READY or not is up to him."

            Teneko still had a question on his mind. Piccolo could almost sense a worry nagging at the big Namekian. "Here's the problem," Teneko added. "Kakarot may be an excellent leader, but I doubt Kelietya would bow before anyone."

            Piccolo thought a minute of what was said; he was right. He himself had thought that even if Goku were the best king there ever was, he could not picture someone as headstrong as Kelietya bowing before anyone. Then again, she DID serve king Vegeta for years without complaint, so perhaps it was possible. "Is that really what you wanted to talk to me about?" inquired a confused Piccolo. Why would Teneko need his advice anyhow?

            "You see," Teneko began, and Piccolo cringed, sensing a long story. "I was the Great Elder's main guardian back on Namek a few hundred years ago. I did not complain the entire time for it was my duty to protect him, but I always had this nagging feeling that I needed to accomplish something more. I felt that my simple life was meaningless."

            Piccolo crossed his arms in typical fashion. "So, what did you do about it?" His question was quite predictable.

            "I waited for years for an opportunity to leave Namek, but it never came," he added. "I was about to die of old age then Kelietya's ship arrived. In exchange for eternal service, she'd grant me eternal youth, so that I could both live forever and have enough power to protect her. It was when she told me I would aide in the reconstruction of the mighty Saiyan Empire that I found the fulfillment I needed."

            "Interesting story," Piccolo fired back, and then headed out the door. "I'd love to listen longer but I have to catch up with my friends."

            As they headed for the exit of the ship, Kelietya and Goku were engaged in interesting conversation. Kelietya was fascinated by how such a powerful Saiyan with the destiny he was handed could live such a simple life. She knew that if she had a simple life, she'd quickly tire of it. He was captivated by how she could deal with the circumstances she was forced to handle. He'd dealt with situations, but not as much as hers.

            "My father was taken from me at quite an early age," Kelietya began to explain. "Frieza's men took him when I was only a young girl." Goku shook his head; boy, did he ever know about loved ones getting taken away.

            "So," he replied. "Did you ever see him again?"

            "No," she said, lowering her head. "King Vegeta later had me tortured-apparently he thought I was dead-and then put me unconscious into a space pod and fired me off into space."

            Goku seemed confused. "Wait," he interrupted. "If you were only a child, how did you have rank in the Royal Saiyan Military?"

            "I was so powerful from birth that by age eight I was more powerful than most of Vegeta's elites. I was at the rank of Colonel when I was deemed threat to his rule," was her explanation.

            "Then…how did you become a general?"

            She shook her head, smiling; should she explain?

            "Namek wasn't always a peaceful place," she replied. "There used to be two different tribes of Namekians. When I landed on Namek, I was treated by the green tribe and raised to fight along side them against the purple Namekians. I was such a force that I was promoted to General, inevitably becoming the main commander of their forces. Hell of a slaughtering."

            At this point in the conversation, Vegeta, who'd been listening, put in his two cents. "Tell me, Kelietya," he said. She glared at him and he quickly changed his greeting from her name to general. "I wasn't aware my father did this."

            Kelietya rolled her eyes as if he was such a moron for saying such a thing. "He DIDN'T," she responded, frustrated. "This was king Vegeta the FIRST." Vegeta's eyes widened; his father was king Vegeta the seventh. That would mean that Kelietya was well over six hundred years old!

            "H…How can you still be alive?" asked a dumbfounded Vegeta. "That was six hundred years ago!"

            Kelietya rolled her eyes again. "After about a hundred thirty years," she continued, "I was about to die. I'd grown old and gray and weak. In remembrance of my duty to the surviving Namek tribe, they summoned their dragon and gave me both eternal youth and the ability to grant it to others. To this day I thank them."

                Vegeta shut up; obviously he'd learned everything he would need to know. It was weird that Kelietya would be sent to Namek, as Namek was a planet that was never considered for conquering. More than likely it was because even though most of the species was weak, there would always be ones like Teneko that swore to protect their kind. Speaking of the large Namekian, Vegeta was amazed by the sheer level of power that he had. He expected the Namek to be strong, but not as so as he was. In any case, all that mattered was that the mighty Saiyan empire be rebuilt. To him, all other objectives would be secondary.

            Goku, stepping off the ship, saw in front of him the new home planet of the reborn Saiyan empire. He was impressed by the fact that even though the sky was red-like Vegeta-it didn't retract from the fact that the scenery was much like Earth's natural sections. In the air lurked a feeling that he belonged here; that this was the place he'd always been meant to live. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving Earth, but within a few seconds, he could picture the rest of his existence here on Saiya. He also sensed a calm, inviting energy from within the planet itself. A Saiyan like him could easily get used to this type of surrounding. Once every one of the Z fighters and their families had exited the gigantic ship, Kelietya called out to everyone in the immediate area.

            "S.I.T. One has landed to drop off civilians," she loudly announced. As soon as she said this, and the z-fighters moved out of the way, a flood of Saiyans and other species exited the ship in the manner of a mass exodus. Goku was amazed that millions of people could inhabit this ship, but then again; it was about the size of a small metropolis. After everyone had left the ship, Kelietya prepared to announce yet again. "Is there anyone who would like to accompany us on our next interstellar mission to gather more of our people?" she added.

            Goku was the first to throw up his arm. Kelietya smiled at his eagerness. Looking over at Kakarot, Vegeta could sense that the Saiyan was merely trying to explore the universe; the gathering of more Saiyans meant little to him. Vegeta rolled his eyes at this realization and threw up his arm. Kelietya scoffed. "Sorry, Vegeta," she replied. "You aren't allowed to go."

            Upon hearing such a thing, he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs in protest, but held his tongue; she was easily twice his power at S.S.3, even. Instead, he grumbled under his breath. Instead of getting angry, he draped his arm around his wife and proceeded towards the King's palace that had been hastily constructed. "Bitch," he whispered of Kelietya. The Saiyan female lifted a finger and, with a mild surge of ki, thrust him to the ground. Irritated, he lifted himself off the ground, brushed himself off and kept walking.

            "Yeah, I heard what you called me," she egged on. "You're just lucky I don't tear you a new caller!" She then turned to the other z-fighters. "Anyone else coming?" she inquired. They all either shook their heads or didn't respond, indicating it was her, Goku, Teneko, and their army of soldiers. Piccolo sent Goku a telepathic good luck message; Goku replied that he hoped he didn't need luck. As the two mighty Saiyans proceeded into the massive craft, the huge metal entrance ramp slid up into the doorway, and a massive door slid shut. Inside, Kelietya proceeded to the main bridge where she gave her orders. She smiled and turned to Goku.

            "So, Kakarot," she said, eagerly. "Where do you think we should try first?"

            Goku shook his head; he really didn't know that much of the universe. He did, however, know one planet he never got a chance to thank. It gave him a technique that helped him on many an occasion. "It may not have any Saiyans," he replied, "but I want to go to Yardrat first."

            Just as Kelietya was about to order the firing of the thrusters, a signal went off; it indicated someone was trying to get on.

            "General Kelietya, ma'am!" yelled a servant at the computer. "A human female is trying to board!"

            Kelietya lowered her eyebrows concernedly. "Onscreen!" she exclaimed.

            On the large screen appeared Chi-Chi, who was banging on the emergency exit door, yelling to be let aboard. Obviously, she'd been away when the call was made for boarding. Kelietya seemed uninterested with the woman, but turned to Goku. "Should we let her aboard?" asked an indifferent Kelietya.

            Goku nodded. In a few minutes, in strolled the wife of the mighty Saiyan warrior, who was soon to be their leader. As Chi-Chi threw her arms around Goku, the Saiyan general shot the woman a harsh look when she wasn't looking, and turned back when she was. "Sorry for slowing us down, Goku," replied Chi-Chi in a strangely nice manner. "I just didn't want you to leave me down there!"

            "Lady Chi-Chi," Kelietya began. "Why don't you sit at the post immediately next to Kakarot?"

            Appreciating the offer, she sat down next to him. A stiff arm movement later, and the ship was on its way into space. Chi-Chi, not being able to hold a firm position like Goku was, was almost thrown in the direction of the back wall when the ship hit g-forces escaping the planet's orbit. The man at the ship's main guidance post turned to face Kelietya, eager to receive their order to go to a planet.

                "General!" asked a servant. "What should I input as our destination?"

            Kelietya looked down at Goku. He gave her a nod, and she relayed the command back to the soldier at the post. "Lieutenant, set course for solar system X-1 Alpha, Planet Yardrat!" she announced, and the lieutenant happily typed away at his control post what the destination was for the spaceship, and the speed he set to light factor two. Time itself froze for a moment as they made the jump to super-light speed. When they broke the time pause, and found out they were already there, only a mere instant had passed. Of this, Kelietya said to Goku, "See, Kakarot? We may be monkeys, but we're far from stupid."

            She faced her lieutenant, who was resetting the switches for the reentry into normal time from hyperspace. He spun around in her direction. "General Kelietya," he asked. "Should I initiate the cloaking mechanism?" She nodded, and he typed away at his keypad again. The red light directly above the main screen lit up, indicating they were now invisible and undetectable. She again turned to Goku.

            "How powerful are the people of Yardrat?" inquired Kelietya. "If they judged us as hostile, would they pose a threat?"

            Goku shook his head. "No," reassured Goku. "They don't have much power, they simply use unusual techniques."

            She raised an eyebrow. "How…unusual?"

            "Teleportation," he replied. "That's the only technique of theirs I'm aware of."

            The ship slowly descended upon planet Yardrat, the lieutenant making extra care not to disturb the planet's gravitational field too much upon entry. Even with cloaking, one could easily reveal theirselves to the enemy by causing a field disturbance. Many ships, carefully designed not to fire or move when cloaked, but Saiyan ships were the exception. Saiyans had developed a way to both travel and move while cloaked. It was a marvel of intergalactic travel, and it was one that allowed the various Saiyan colonies to win back their freedom from Frieza's Cardarian race. The problem was, even with their freedom, they felt that the Cardarians were preparing for something evil. Kelietya just didn't know when or how, but she knew it would happen.

            "Have we landed yet?" asked Teneko, trying to get people's attention off of the strange appearance of the planet.

            "Commander!" replied the Captain, standing at attention. "We have made the final landing procedure, and are ready to uncloak upon General Kelietya's order."

            Goku looked up and gave her the nod, indicating he was sure they were ready. She faced the Captain. "Captain," she responded, "disengage the cloaking mechanism." He relayed the order to the lieutenant at the control panel, who typed away eagerly. In a few seconds, the red light faded, letting them all know that good or bad, they were now completely visible and vulnerable to whatever the natives had in store.

            Kelietya was prepared to exit the ship, but Goku stopped her for a minute. "Wait, Kelietya," he replied. She looked at him eagerly, wondering why he didn't refer to her by her proper rank. Normally, her response to anyone in her ship talking to her by her first name without the presence of her rank in the sentence was a jab to the stomach. In any case, he wasn't finished. "They are my friends. Perhaps if they see me first they won't be worried or angry."

            "Perhaps you're right," she replied. "All right. I'll wait until you tell me I can come down." She stood there a minute and pondered what she had just said; she was still in charge and she was already talking like he was her superior. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, it was just that as long as she could remember, she always had a problem with answering up to people who were higher ranking than her. She shook off the wonderment and got back to waiting for him to be friendly with the natives. It appeared that this was something he was good at.

                She looked on the screen at Goku, who was caught up in a friendly conversation with several of the native Yardratians. It seemed that he had forgotten all about giving her the signal when they were ready to have her come out. She looked over at Chi-Chi, who was up close to the screen, looking as if she was worried about the people of Yardrat doing some kind of harm to him. It amazed her that Chi-Chi, who should know exactly how powerful her husband was, should worry about Goku. She wondered how nice it must be for Goku, knowing he has a person who is worried about him even if he pisses her off. All her life, Kelietya had been bounced around from one place to another, never having known family. It was at a very young age that her father was taken from her, and she did not remember much of him.

            Kelietya got down off of her post, and strolled over to Chi-Chi's position; there was something she just had to ask. "Lady Chi-Chi?" she asked, catching the human female's attention. Chi-Chi turned, and through her feminine senses, saw that Kelietya had many questions in her mind about something love related. It had to be-she sensed-about Goku.

            "Hmm?" Chi-Chi replied, still leaving one eye focused on the screen.

            "When you and Kakarot got married," she added, "did you love each other?"

            Chi-Chi shook her head. "We didn't love each other before we got married," she replied. "I kind of forced him into marrying me, and we fell in love as we went along."

            Kelietya raised an eyebrow; this was not the response she expected. She was anticipating a response that was more of love at first sight. This seemed even more confusing to her. She did not understand how two complete strangers could get married based solely on the hope they'd fall in love later on. It was to her, a complete hit or miss proposition.

            "Didn't…you ever have doubts?" she asked, at a loss for words.

            "Oh hell yes," Chi-Chi not so eloquently replied. "But we realized that nothing was going to ruin what we had started."

            Just then, Goku came on the speakers and gave the word to Kelietya that it was safe to exit. As she walked away, she had a look of eagerness on her mind of maybe one day she'd have what Chi-Chi and Goku had for years. In any case, she had to get back on the mission, so she smacked herself on the side of her head, trying to get back on track. All this wondering about love got her off the logic trail. Outside the ship, she noticed that the people looked remarkably like the people she'd seen before somewhere, but couldn't place.

            "Hello, people of Yardrat," she announced, commanding people's attention. "My name is Kelietya and I am a general in the Saiyan military. We have come to this planet to ask if anyone would like to return with us to Planet Saiya and be a part of the new Saiyan empire."

            A man at the front, who despite his short stature, looked like their mighty ruler, gave an order to a lieutenant of his. Within a matter of seven minutes, there was a group of exactly eleven ready to leave with Kelietya. Naturally, Kelietya wondered how they knew when the cloaking was activated.

            "H…How did you know we were coming?" inquired a perplexed Kelietya. "Our ship was cloaked."

            The leader nodded his head. "We know," he responded, his voice light and squeaky. "We have a reputation for using strange energy techniques. Clairvoyance is one of them."

            As the small group of Yardrat people eagerly entered the ship, leaving behind their home planet, Kelietya gave them a "debriefing" of a sort of what they should do next. She told them there was enough space in the ship for a million beings to each have an individual living chamber, complete with a sink and toilet. They were efficiently assigned a specific living area and scurried off to get unpacked. Goku walked up to Kelietya.

            "How many planets are we to visit?" he asked, noting the slow pace of this type of mission.

            "I understand what you are wondering, Kakarot," she answered. "We go from one planet to another until the ship has reached more than fifty percent capacity. Then we go home."

            "Are we the only ship doing this?" he fired back.

            "No," she quickly countered. "There are thirty other ships in our fleet that are capable of the same thing."

            He nodded; this answer was good enough for him. He then strolled away with his arm draped around Chi-Chi's shoulder, both happily talking as they went towards their quarters. Witnessing the happiness they had, Kelietya folded her arms, frustrated. _I have to do something about those two,_ she thought. _They're such a nice, happy couple. Can't I have that?! I think I'm better looking than her!_

            Her commander, Teneko, read the thoughts on her mind as he passed by. He felt, in a way, sorry for her. At the same time, however, he had no compassion for people who screwed up nice, neat orders. "Lekediraly," he muttered to himself.

            Kelietya rolled her eyes. "I speak Namekian, Teneko," she reminded him, sternly. He quickly held his tongue and left for his position.


	3. Chapter Three

The Definition of Pride

By Moonraker One

Chapter three - Further Saiyan Searches

            The ship quickly got situated and left Yardrat. There was a cheerful goodbye and then they were off to gather more of their own people. Kelietya's mighty new Saiyan empire had already grown to quite a large population, consisting of many different species, Saiyans being the obvious main majority. Goku was slated to become the king of this mighty new empire, but he himself was having some doubts about whether he was ready to give people commands. Chi-Chi reminded him about how he would always tell the others what to do in case of a apocalyptic threat to the Earth, so he supposed he was ready. He just didn't think he could bring himself to order people around in times of peace. Then again, he supposed this little adventure he was on would prove if he was or not.

            Kelietya knew what planet she wanted to go to, she just wondered if Goku was willing to go there. It was a planet she'd visited in the couple hundred years before returning to Namek a second time. She wanted to go to planet Tetral, for it was the place for diversity. There was one central government, but it was the minority. In fact, there were nine hundred seventy different species inhabiting that single planet. She'd gone there not knowing it was one of the best relaxation places in the universe. Once she got there, she couldn't bear to leave, but realized she had to. Ever since, she'd longed to return. She secretly had her own intentions of getting together with Goku when he wasn't with his wife, so maybe she could have a chance. Of course, the chances of her sweeping him off his feet after twenty years of devoted marriage was about the chance of her turning bright green. In any case, she had to try.

            "Kakarot," she inquired, turning to him for confirmation. "Do you want to go to planet Tetral?"

            "I'll try anything once," he replied. She smiled; he'd try _anything_? Good…

            "Sir!" The captain on Tetral said to his commander. "A ship is prepared to make a jump to super-light speed and rematerialize near our planet!"

            The commander looked at the screen; because they hadn't appeared yet, he couldn't see exactly what kind of ship it was, but it sort of looked hostile. He looked down at the captain.

            "Captain!" he ordered. "Shoot them a message."

            The captain nodded; he punched up the normal channel and opened communications. "Attention, unknown spacecraft," he said, in a tone that conveyed questioning. "Before you come, we ask that you state your intentions."

            "General!" exclaimed the communications soldier. "Incoming message from Tetral!"

            She lowered her eyebrows confusedly. How could they know her ship was headed for their planet before the light border had even been broken? "Onscreen!" she commanded. Instantly, the message appeared on the main screen. It was strange; she'd been NEAR this planet before, and such a message was never conveyed. Why had their policies changed? Were they at risk?

            "This is Saiyan Interstellar Transport One," responded Kelietya. "I am General Kelietya, supreme commander of Saiyan military forces. My only intention is to come here to relax, and to gather anyone who wants to return to Saiya with us."

            The captain looked over at his commander, then looked back with a not-so-demeaning look on his face. "Welcome back, General," he merrily replied. "It's good to have you with us again." She smiled back; it was good to be remembered. She was only two hundred thirty when she was here last; had it been that long? Really? It seemed to her like yesterday. If it was anything like it was last time, Goku'd really like it here. For her, he'd have to.

            "Should I make the switch to super-light speed?" inquired the lieutenant. He was responded to with a nod. Hastily, he moved forward the main force lever, causing time to pause again. And, like before, when they came out, they rapidly switched everything back to normal. Goku felt a little woozy every time they came out of hyperspace. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to being frozen in place for what seemed like an eternity when in reality only an instant had passed. Oh well; he figured it was an experience he'd have to grow accustomed to. Kelietya saw through the tough Super Saiyan exterior, into the soul of the powerful legendary one. She was quite excellent at seeing what you had in your mind and spirit, and she saw in him a constant restlessness. He probably didn't know it himself, but it made him always need to be moving quickly, never stopping the action for too long. She smiled that demeaning smile she was famous for; perhaps her chances of turning bright green were better than she expected…

                The planet was even more wondrous than when she was there previously. She could see straightforward what was the cause for the change in policy; there was obvious damage on the mountains from what appeared to be a minor scuffle. She saw the main welcoming message they beam onto the screens of every incoming ship, and it told her that a battle left the city in ruins that had to be rebuilt. She was impressed, because the city had been rebuilt to a better quality than it had previously ever been. If their builders were this good, certainly she'd need to bring some back to Saiya with her. Goku saw before him a grand city; one that seemed to yell out to him to slow down. The ever-moving Goku couldn't silence the inner urge to relax when he was here, even. His subconscious rationalized it. After all, not all of a warrior's activities had to be high-octane in nature. Kelietya seemed to hear his inner call to peace as if it were broadcast over a loudspeaker, which caused her smile to widen, and her eyebrows to lower. Phase one was nearly underway.

            "Attention, all soldiers!" Announced Kelietya over the main P.A. system. "You may go about your leisure at will!" Her command was heeded well, for once the main ramp was lowered, a flood of lesser beings exited. Teneko, being a Namek, knew his relaxation would involve hours in the meditation room. For some reason, his Namekian mind seemed to perk, the same way it did every time something was wrong in the air. It happened to him when a Cardarian named Cold the First came to Namek long before his great-grandson's son would come a few centuries later to die at the hands of a Super Saiyan. He kept his guard up, for his antennae only tingled this way in the event of a problem. The people of Tetral moved out of the way when the commander descended, for his seven foot stature and sweeping presence dwarfed them greatly. Chi-Chi told her husband she'd be at the main swimming area, catching up on the waves. Taking into account her past with Goku, she felt safe with him spending time with Kelietya. _Such foolish human ways,_ Kelietya thought of this decision, _ought to be ended._

            There was nothing for Chi-Chi to worry about; if Kelietya still had it-and she knew she did-it would be over before the human woman knew about it. Too quick for any sort of retaliation of any variety. "I've an idea, Kakarot," suggested Kelietya. "Why don't we go to the V.R. chamber for some virtual relaxation." Ouch; the V.R. room. Not the steam room, which would allow for some alluring flirtation, not the mountains, which would pry open the proverbial locked door; no, she went straight for her private V.R. chamber. She was not about to pry open the lock, she was rearing back in preparation to kick down the door to his weak, inner heart. He would then be completely under her thrall.

            He thought a second. "I thought we came here to BREAK from fighting," he replied.

            This response threw her off slightly. She quickly regathered her defenses and responded with, "Don't worry, Kakarot. This's my private V.R. chamber where we can relax without fighting."

            He looked up, thinking. "Um…Ok!" he shot back. She was screaming for joy inside; he was about to throw off her plan, but surrendered his defenses at the last minute! Some Saiyans she'd brought in and lost interest in later fought her for hours, never laying down their defenses! In matters of the heart, what a helpless moron he was!  "I guess I trust you." Oh yes, this was lovely; he was hers.

            The hallway to her chambers was longer than before, but it was the same way it had been left. Once the two of them set foot inside, he was in amazement at the level of detail she'd put into this place. She obviously had spent agonizing hours making this room as alluring as it could be. This also made him cautious; who would need such aesthetic value? Was she trying to get someone under her control, and who? He was no idiot, but he had much to learn. She slid open the door to her V.R. chamber slowly, showing him the two face visors that made up the central part of the V.R. system. "In we go," she said, entering the chamber. He went in after her, seeing the massive computer it was hooked to.

            She pressed a few buttons, then slid her mask on. He did as she did shortly thereafter, and found himself in the grass fields of Mekro. He'd never been there, but from what he could see, there was nary a planet more wondrous and excellent. Now he knew she was onto something, but what? He was still oblivious to what was right in front of him. Once he got his bearings, he looked over and found that her Saiyan armor had changed from the type she normally wore to her main General's formal armor, which she had not worn since she last left Namek. He could see why; it fit her curves better and appeared to a side of his emotions he did not know were still active. He looked at her and felt wilder, more primitive Saiyan instincts taking control. He fought them, knowing what would happen if he gave in.

            "So, is this relaxing?" she said, the tone in her voice soothing. Perhaps too much so; as soon as she said it, she cursed silently. She had just made a mistake she hadn't made in three hundred years; she gave away her position. He stood up abruptly with a stern look on his face. Damn; right amount, wrong finesse. Her green had just turned pale again.

            "I think you're trying to seduce me," Goku cautiously said, in response. Seeing as her position was done, she figured what was the point of not revealing her intentions.

            "Yes," she replied. "I'm trying to seduce you. I want you to leave Chi-Chi forever, and be my husband."

            He shook his head disgustedly. "Why didn't I see it before?" The words ran her through like a sword.

            "I'm…sorry I tried," she tried to explain. "I do this a lot. I crush the hearts of Saiyans for my own amusement."

            "Why didn't I see it before?!" He continued. "I can't believe it!"

            She thrust her foot down, and was about to say, "I'll never forgive myself!" But she was unable, because before she could speak, he grabbed her firmly and pressed his lips against hers. She felt like rejecting him at first, but found herself giving in slowly. What was he doing? He was just in the middle of asking why didn't he see it. Wait, what didn't he see? Was it her plan, or something else? He pushed himself away before she could figure it out.

            "I…can't understand, Kakarot," she began.

            "Why didn't I see it before," he repeated. "I couldn't see why I foolishly made a snap decision."

            She turned her head slightly in confusion. "I'm afraid I still can't understand. What decision?"

            "I'll be back," he replied, then ejected himself from V.R. He'd just thrown off any sense she had of him; what was the ultimate purpose of the kiss? She had to follow him to find out. Ejecting herself from V.R., she hid her power then waited for him to rush out, which he did.

            Keeping inconspicuous, she kept up with him as he power-walked towards the swimming area. The hallways went by at near rocket speed as the chase kept up. A few periods of twenty minutes passed before Goku made it to the gigantic swimming pool, but Kelietya stayed close behind.

            "Have you seen my wife, bodyguard?" asked an oddly concerned Goku.

            The lifeguard on duty thought a little, then said, "She left for the locker room." He shifted his walking direction, then quickened his pace. People rushed to the side as he seemingly stormed the door of the locker room, pushing it open effortlessly. His facial expression turned from concern to bewilderment. There before him-Kelietya saw it too-was his wife Chi-Chi. She was draped around the front side of a person whose face he couldn't completely see because her kissing him was covering it. When she was alerted to Goku's sudden presence, her face adorned a look of impending doom, allowing her to pull away, and him to see the stranger's face. It literally drove the wind out of him. Even after air seeped back in did he have a problem saying it.

            "J…JUUNANAGOU!?!" He rasped. "WHAT THE FU…!" His wind wore out before the obscenity could be heard, sparing many a pair of virgin ears.

            "By the order of Kami," someone whispered then immediately shut up, sensing an angry super Saiyan in their vicinity.

            "N…NO!" Screamed Chi-Chi, of Goku's presence. "YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! IT WASN'T TO BE LIKE THIS!"

            "What the HELL was it supposed to be like then?!" He angrily boomed. "HOW WAS IT TO BE?! I DEMAND TO KNOW!" He, deep down, did not like the evil anger his voice was assuming, but he was far too pushed forward to control himself now. Chi-Chi whimpered back like a wounded animal, squinting so as not to see the sheer force in her gentle husband's stance.

            "I'd like to give my part…" Juunanagou (android seventeen) attempted to say, lifting his hand to hopefully silence Goku to give his side.

            Goku gave him an evil glare, then blasted off the hand of Juunanagou. The android glared at the nothingness where his hand had been, then quickly got angry. "YOU SHUT UP!" fired Goku, officially swept up in anger. "YOU'RE THE CAUSE, SO SHUT UP!"

            "Please don't hurt him," Chi-Chi pleaded. He focused his gaze on her, and she put up her hands defensively. Juunanagou, sensing possible hostility in Goku, launched himself forward in attempt to protect his lover. Seeing this insult of an action, Goku thrust forth a mighty fist, which easily cracked open the titanium rib cage of Juunanagou. He fell to his knees, clutching his chest. Goku force-kicked him in the chin, hurling him backwards, punching through eighteen lines of lockers. Goku stomped forward and snatched his wife, effortlessly raising her four feet off the ground by her neck. She gazed in terror at her current position, dangling above the floor, elevated by his left hand. The grip on her neck was tighter than a hydraulic vice.

            "I wish I was evil so I could kill you," he said, his voice less aggressive than before. "How dare you surrender yourself to that..that…machine?! My kami, Chi-Chi, he was about to unbutton his top pants button when I came in!"

            "I…tried to get Kelietya to seduce you," she said, her voice muffled by his tight grip. "At least then we'd be even…"

            He let go instantly, caught up by the sudden realization of the situation. He sensed Kelietya's ki behind him, so he rapidly whirled around. "Is this true!?" he screeched, most of his anger turned back into shock. "I didn't even see him on the ship!"  
            "He…he caught another ship here," she explained. "Chi-Chi explained the affair to me, and I agreed to help her."

            Goku shot his glare back at Chi-Chi. "How long has this gone on!?" He demanded. "Are both my children my own!?"

            She'd been crying before, but this really brought out the tears. "H…how could you ask…" she tried to say, but tears silenced her. "Of…of course they…"

            Goku shook his head as he exited the room. "Bullsh…" he said, then didn't finish as he walked away. Before he even took two steps, there stood a terror-stricken Gohan, who'd heard the entire thing. Goku saw in him the sheer level of worry, anger, and sadness that he himself was feeling all at once. Neither of them spoke, but a million words were uttered between them; a full conversation compressed into two incredulous glances. Goku saw tears streak down his son's grown-man eyes, and it brought the mighty Saiyan himself to tears. The two Super Saiyans helped each other walk away, both angry as hell and sadder than a depressant at the same time.

            When they both got back to Gohan's chamber, and they could speak, Goku proceeded to ask a question that bothered him.

            "H…how'd you know to come here?" Goku asked in between crying.

            Gohan wiped away a tear and replied, "I sensed something was wrong, so I caught a ship here."

            Neither wanted to ask why would she do it, because they both didn't want to know. Goku strangely saw Gohan fading to black, so he tried to call out to his son, but his cries were muffled. He felt himself shaking, and he couldn't explain why.

            "Kakarot?" a voice cried, slowly becoming more and more audible. "KAKAROT!" As if shot by a gun, he sprung up, suddenly becoming conscious. He looked around him, and saw his surroundings in the ship were unaltered. He was in his chair, Chi-Chi was beside him, and Kelietya had her hand on his arm, shaking him. He was confused as to how he got to where he currently was.

            "How the hell did I get here?" he asked.

            "I was about to ask you if you wanted to go to Tetral," Kelietya explained. "But for some reason, you fell asleep in your chair before I could finish. I came down to wake you when you started tossing and turning violently, kicking and punching at something as if it were there."

            Goku slapped himself mildly on the cheek; was he really here? Now?

            "Do you want to?" Kelietya persisted.

            He shook his head confusedly. "Want to what?"

            She rolled her eyes. "Do you want to go to Tetral?" She repeated.

            He abruptly shook his head, assuredly. "No," he said, making sure his voice was heard. "Do NOT go to Tetral. We must steer FAR CLEAR of that planet."

            She walked up to her chair, bewildered by his urgent need not to go to the most relaxing planet in the galaxy. "Oh…oh-kay," she said.

            _Basket case, _she thought. _What's gotten into him, all of a sudden?!_

                "Um, General Kelietya?" he inquired. "Do you know if Juunanagou was taken up with us?"

            She looked left and right as if she knew such a person. "I know no androids with a number of seventeen," she answered.

            "Whew," he replied. "Thank Kami."

            He received a troubling telepathic message from Teneko. The Namekian said, _I saw the dream you had, Kakarot. I have to tell you, such a nightmare is natural to a person the first time they experience hyperspace travel._

            He was confused by the Namekian's mental words. _Why is that?_ he replied, mentally.

            The Namekian rolled his eyes. _For some reason, a person's worst fear is brought to the surface the next time after that that they fall asleep. Also, in this nightmare, they perform their worst possible reaction to this fear. In essence, this nightmare you can't win._

            _Thanks for explaining, _responded Goku.

_            Your wife having…a less than honorable affair with an immature teenage android?!_ Even Goku laughed a bit at the sheer absurdity of the nightmare. He knew, from reunion experiences that Chi-Chi despised Juunana's foolish antics around vehicles and anything else fast, like Krillin's old girlfriend. From such humorous memories, he knew his better-than-that wife was above being seduced by that.

            He looked up; Kelietya was smiling at him. _I saw your nightmare too, Kakarot_, she reassured him. _Rest assured I'd never try to seduce you. I'm slightly envious of your devotion, yes, but what you have is honorable._

            He smiled back. _Thank you much,_ he replied.

            Her smile turned to a stern frown. _Also, I've NEVER been with a male of ANY species, ever. Don't you EVER insult me so, even in a nightmare in which you have no control over your settings!_

            He rolled his eyes; as if he could control such a thing. In any case, he couldn't understand the sheer weirdness of the dream. It seemed beyond him that he would have a nightmare of Chi-Chi having an affair with Juunanagou. She'd expressed no concern in anyone else before, so why Juunanagou? Why would he have a nightmare in which the android was the one who would seduce his wife? More complications would ensue, he predicted. Of all the bizarre things to happen to him, this one easily took the cake. He didn't comprehend the ultimate purpose of the nightmare, but felt it didn't truly matter. He looked over at his wife; she'd probably never know of the incredibly real-feeling nightmare he just had. She would be concerned, but he'd tell her nothing. There was no point in getting her MORE worried. Such an act would borderline on madness. One question about the dream bothered him more than any other; why did he go off the deep end so abruptly? He'd fought villains who've done things far more terrible than what she did in the nightmare, so why the anger? It was even stupefying to him.

                Kelietya figured out why he didn't want to go to Tetral, so she thought up another planet to which he might want to go, this time perhaps, a nightmare wouldn't keep them from it. It was the place to which she'd spent a lot of her time training herself and her troops for combat. She figured it was here they'd find a majority more Saiyans than they had found. So far, Yardrat had been their only planet, and there were no Saiyans. She knew she'd find them here, because her people left Saiya all the time for Kepetro, the planet with the best fighting settings in the universe. She only hoped Goku wouldn't freak out again.

            "I'm thinking of going to Kepetro," she offered. "It has the best training accommodations in the universe. Do you want to go there?"

            He thought a minute. Best training accommodations? Excellent for him; possibly bad for his wife. After all, she despised his constant fighting, so perhaps she'd get angry with him. He always had a tradition of trying everything once, so why not? If she didn't like it, too bad; there was nothing she could do to stop him.

            "Sure," he replied. "I'd love to go there." He looked over, and surprisingly, Chi-Chi didn't seem angry at him. Quite the opposite; she, for some reason, appeared unusually pleased. This was not normal; was she ill? Or perhaps she finally saw the light?

            "Okay then," Kelietya said. "Lieutenant, set the thrusters for the fastest non-light speed. This planet isn't but two parsecs away."

            The lieutenant nodded and pushed the lever to one notch below the super-light mark. Most of the time, a ship can only go into hyperspace once. However, since the Saiyans developed power crystals that are perpetually crystallized. No more drainage due to de-crystallization. So, that meant the reason for not switching was to keep any more nightmares from happening. As they flew on, Teneko remembered his first hyperspace-induced nightmare. He would've torn up half the ship if Kelietya hadn't interfered. Once the ship was in range of the planet, Kelietya ordered the slowdown and communications line opened. Chi-Chi approached Goku.

            "Good luck with all your training!" she cheerfully exclaimed, then walked towards the break room.

            _It's time, _Chi-Chi thought. _After all this time, Goku finally gets to learn my secret I've kept from him._


	4. Chapter Four

Definition of Pride

By Moonraker One

Chapter Four – A Secret Heritage

            Once inside the break room, Chi-Chi sat down, thinking of how she was going to approach this. She had kept a very-well hidden secret from Goku the entire time she'd known him; so how she was going to reveal it was a problem. She knew that if it was revealed too quickly, it might cause him some distress. If she took too long, however, she might never fully get him to realize the fullness of the secret. She stared at the small, discolored dot that was on the back of her hand, pondering the problems caused by the little bump that was virtually impossible to notice in an emergency situation. She had always been angry that such a small dot could cause such a huge problem.

            Kelietya knocked on the door before entering the break room, and Chi-Chi turned to her; the look on her face indicating that ready or not, this was the time to unveil herself. The Saiyan general lifted Chi-Chi's hand up to face level so as to analyze the dot on the hand. She then faced the human woman. "Are you ready to put the plan into motion?" inquired Kelietya, making sure all the pieces were in place.

            "I'm as ready as ever," Chi-Chi replied. "I just hope you know what you're getting me into."

            Kelietya rolled her eyes, then interjected, "Don't worry; it's not as if you're not strong enough for this."

            Chi-Chi shook her head. "I know," she affirmed. "I'm just not sure if this is a good idea." Kelietya patted her friend on the shoulder.

            "If there's anyone I can rely on, it's you," she reassured Chi-Chi. The human woman knew what she was to do, she just didn't know if she was truly ready or not. It was, however, too late to back out now, especially now that all the preparations had been made.

            Goku was standing in the hallway near the exit, waiting for them to descend onto the planet and open the hatch, when Kelietya came running up. Goku whirled around to see a look of extreme direness on her face. He tried to read her mind, but she was far too powerful for him to do so. Frightened by the fact that such a powerful Saiyan warrioress would fear for something, he knew that whatever terror had happened was a problem.

            "What's wrong?!" He asked direly. "Has something happened?!"

            Kelietya had sweat pouring down her face. "It's your wife, Chi-Chi," she shrieked. "An evil suddenly teleported onto our ship and took her away before we could react!"

            Goku grabbed her by the shoulders. "When did this happen?!" he yelled. "Who took her?!"

            Kelietya shook her head. "I don't know," she replied suddenly. "But I know what planet she's been taken to. We'll change course at once!"

            The two of them dashed at full speed back to the main room where Kelietya ran the ship. Kelietya immediately relayed the order to the lieutenant to change course to Planet Mynfa, the planet where Chi-Chi had been taken to. She then gave the order to switch to super-light speed. Even though Goku didn't want a nightmare, the one he was experiencing now that his wife was taken was twice as bad. They all braced themselves for the instant that time froze itself, which came before they could all get ready. As usual, time stayed frozen for what seemed to be an eternity, but only an instant had passed before they were back onto the regular time stream. Kelietya ordered the ship put on full cloaking until they landed, and the order was obeyed.

            "Have you ever been here, Kelietya?" asked a nervous Goku. "Is there anything I need to know?"

            "Only that the people here are ruthless and destructive," replied Kelietya. "Don't worry, Kakarot, I'll help you get your wife back."

            The ship's landing was more abrupt than normal, but then again, this was an emergency situation. Goku ran up to the exit ramp before it had even descended and flew out, dead set on finding his wife. Eager to fight, Kelietya was in close pursuit. Deep inside, she knew the chances of Chi-Chi being alive on this planet without being powerful were minimal, close to non-existent. She knew that Goku probably would not take it well if she was not alive. He might even not have a purpose to live, she figured.

            Goku touched down on the desert terrain of Planet Mynfa, the planet of ruthless, evil beings. He saw before him many scruffy, battle-scarred warriors who were staring angrily at him. He could tell that they were only to a small degree less powerful than him, so it would be somewhat a problem if he tried to fight them at less than super Saiyan level.

            "I have no business with you," he announced. "I only want my wife back. If you give her to me I will not hurt you." This warranted less than a positive response. The chattering between the warriors immediately silenced, causing a feeling of much tension to materialize. One small group was even about to charge him when a new ki signature came into his field of sensing. It seemed oddly familiar, even though it felt aggressive.

            "You want to be taken to your wife?" asked the Saiyan female, who looked very similar to Kelietya except her hair was black. "You'll have to get past me. You won't learn anything of her condition unless you fight me."

            His angry frown did not leave his face. "That won't be a problem," he replied, trying to get her to lose her cool. He soon realized it would not happen; she was obviously trained not to lose her cool in battle. "I'm sure I'll find a way to beat you."

            It was better to be defensive in battle, but he could not take it anymore, so he charged her at full speed, thrusting his fist at her face, hoping that it would land itself on her face. Without any effort, she lifted her right hand and caught his fist in midair. Immediately changing tactics-like a good warrior should-he went super Saiyan quickly and appeared behind her, trying to throw a kick at her head. He wondered why she wasn't moving. With the same hand she used to block the fist, she raised an open hand and stopped the powerful kick. "I'd be praying right now if that was indeed your best," she replied.

            His angry frown turned into a playful, yet serious smile. "You're quite observant," he responded. "I'm capable of far more than this." With that said, he went super Saiyan two. He sensed that her fighting capacity was at least three times what she was currently showing. Eager to end this battle, he thrust an upward punch aimed at the center part of her gut. She was unable to block or dodge, so she was taken off guard and had the wind thrown out of her. Recovering, she tried to dodge a sideways fist but was again caught off guard and was thrown backwards a bit. Figuring out his pattern, she dodged a predictable kick attempt, then charged up to Super Saiyan two as well.

            "So," Goku exclaimed. "You're good too." Before he could even finish, she caught him directly in his one spot that was weaker than the rest of him-his chest. A well-placed kick to the center of his chest threatened to put down the powerful Saiyan warrior. He was not to be defeated so quickly, so he charged up to Super Saiyan three, and sent her to the ground with an incredible thrust to the face. She didn't even have time to blink before she was on the ground. He stood on top of her. "I beat you!" He yelled, putting his foot on her chest. "Now where's my wife?!"

            She pushed his foot off her, and stood up. "You think I've been beaten?!" she yelled. "You don't know the half of it!" She charged up, causing the entire surroundings to shake violently. She looked like she was super Saiyan one, but her eyes were pure white and glowing instead of green. Also, her hair was bright silver instead of yellow. He gasped; this was the Holy Saiyan level of power. "W…Who are you?!" he nervously asked.

            "My name is Chakuri," she replied. "Now that you've seen my true power, why aren't you running?" The statement was rude, but he understood it perfectly. It was incredible to him that he should meet not only one, but two Saiyan women and both of them are at his level or just a bit higher. He figured his own power to be close to equal to hers at Super Saiyan four.

                Bam. She launched herself forward and drove her knee into his gut before he could see her move. His eyes grew big at the instant her knee connected with his abdomen. He was not expecting such a powerful attack so quickly. He fell to his knees, clutching his stomach in pain. She waited for him to slowly slink his way upwards, then motioned for one of the warriors to throw her something. He couldn't make out the wadded up ball of fabric thrown to her at first, but it all became clear once she threw it to him. "You want to know where your wife is?" said the Saiyan woman slyly. "Your Chi-Chi is dead. Gone forever never to be seen again."

            He unrolled the ball of fabric, and it was the outfit his wife usually wore around the house. Taking it all in at once, the tears started to pour out like a river. He looked up at the woman as she began to slowly walk away. He didn't care if she looked familiar or not; his wife was dead, and the perpetrator had to die. He charged up to super Saiyan two, causing the woman to slow her pace down. He then went to Super Saiyan three,  which caused her to stop and turn around. "So, you've decided to show more of your power," she said teasingly. "I do know, however, that your capable of even more. Show me your apex."

            His anger had now taken root in his power level; he was going to take her down, regardless of how strong she was. He had too, or else he'd do as much damage as he could before he died. He reached deep within his own reserves, and pulled out a trump card he hadn't used for fear of the result: Super Saiyan four. His torso began to develop the trademark brownish red hair of the fifth level of Super Saiyan. She felt his power skyrocket, and she saw that he was now extremely close to her equal. This would make the battle even more exciting.

            "You're going to pay for the death of my wife," screeched Goku, who was aware of his power and hers, and was aware of the fact that the deciding factor now would be skill.

            He waited for her to launch herself forth, and blocked a fist headed for his skull. He blocked it with all his might, but realized it was just a test shot. Once she saw his reaction skill, she fired a real shot in the form of a side of head kick, which he barely dodged. He didn't realize it, but the kick was intentionally launched so he'd dodge it and be lured into a chest hit. Her fist landed, but didn't hurt as much as it did before. Nonetheless, it felt as though he were hit by a missile. He threw his knee at her chin, which she reversed into a groin kick. She was aware that all men had a weak spot, and she took advantage of it. The shocked Goku was struggling enough to be sent upward with a powerful high kick. He disappeared in time to both dodge a fist, and deliver his own to her, sending her away. She didn't have time to react, so she took a direct kick to the gut, which caused a bit of blood to emerge from her mouth. Her response was a second kick to the groin, which enabled her to flurry him with punches. She flew directly above him during his stun period, and pulled her right hand-palm extended up-above her head with left hand clutching right wrist. She pooled a large amount of ki into a ball within her palm.

            "SAIYAN PRIDE CANNON!" She yelled, immediately thrusting her arms downward-left hand still clutching right wrist-and fired a large beam of ki in his direction. Completely helpless to defend, he was thrust into a rapid descent, causing him to meet with the rocky desert terrain. She landed, and scanned her surroundings.

            "I'm not stupid, Kakarot," she said, looking for his ki signal. "I know that blast was powerful, but not enough to take you out."

            She walked forward until she saw him lying on his back in a huge crater. Smiling slyly, she floated down into the crater, then stood over him, analyzing him for damage. Sensing her above him, he rocketed up to a semi-seated position, then slammed his fist into her abdomen. Spurting a bit of blood on his face, she dropped to her knees on top of him. So he couldn't kill her; at least he'd give her a hell of a stomach pain. Then, as she lay unconscious on him, he slid back down as it all faded to black.

            "Kakarot?" A voice asked. "Are you okay?"

            He opened his eyes, and realized he was lying on a table in the medic room. He saw commander Teneko and Kelietya standing near him. He looked over, and saw a sight he was not expecting to see. Sitting on the table next to him, was his wife Chi-Chi. Because he'd been healed, he leaped from the table and draped his arms around her.

            "I thought I'd lost you forever," he said, tears flowing again.

            "I love you, Goku," she replied. "Did you have fun with Chakuri?"

            Hearing that, he pushed himself back a bit so as to look in her face. "H…how'd you know of her?" he asked, careful not to piss her off. "I…I mean, it's not like I dated her or any…"

            She cut him off. "I know," Chi-Chi replied. "I know Chakuri because, well, I frankly don't know how to say this."

            He squinted, confused by this. "How?" he wondered out loud. "You can tell me!"

            She rolled her eyes; she'd never understand his bluntness. "I know Chakuri because," she added. "Because she and I are the same person."

            He could've fallen over backwards, but righted himself. "What…do you mean?"

            She pointed to the discolored dot on her hand. "You remember that I always have had this?" she asked.

            He moved his head to the side, confusedly. "Yeah…and?"

            She gripped it with her fingernails, and ripped the tiny dot off. He backed up as she began to change physically. Her arm muscles grew a bit, tearing the sleeves on her outfit. Her hair grew immensely, sending her hair tie flying backward. It only took less than a minute, but when it was over, there sat the Saiyan female he'd fought a bit ago. Her face was the same as it was when she was Chi-Chi, but he didn't notice because he was too caught up in the fight. She also bore a more-than-slight resemblance to Kelietya.

            "I think you should take it from here, Kelietya," Chakuri replied.

            Kelietya strolled over to Goku, and began the explanation.

            "You see, Kakarot," she began, "I returned to Planet Vegeta, and I saw you amongst those to be sent off. I could tell you'd be the savior of our people that's only born every million years. I couldn't imagine how you'd act, so I had my sister here follow you to Earth."

            Goku interrupted with, "Wait, my wife's your sister?!"

            Kelietya rolled her eyes. "Let me continue," she added. "She couldn't be the way she was, so she agreed to be transformed into a human, and be regressed in age to a child your age. I kind of expected you to marry her. She was never to tell you of her secret until all three of us were reunited."

            "So," Goku interjected. "Why were you so angry all the time?"

            Chakuri entered the conversation. "I had to act like an overprotective wife if we were united by marriage. Also, I hated not being allowed to help you in battle, especially since I knew I was far superior to you all those times!"

            He laughed a bit. "Why…couldn't you?"

            She rolled her eyes yet again. "I was ordered not to."

            "Can…you run that past me again?" inquired Goku, warranting Chakuri to smack him on the back of the head. "Really; I don't understand why you wouldn't help me."

                "I really don't think it matters, Goku," responded Chakuri, who was becoming more and more frustrated with every stupid question. She had previously been told there were no stupid questions, but living with this baka shot that theory to hell. It was today that she had her first excitement of her life; being able to fight her husband without him having to hold back because she was a weak Human. She only wished she'd been able to do this sooner, because even though her body was Human, her mind and her instincts were Saiyan still, so she had two conflicting urges at the same time.

            Goku and Chakuri left the medic room, both having bonded more in that brief confrontation than they had in their previous twenty years of marriage. Now they had quite a bit of catching up to do, especially now the legendary Saiyan and his wife could now train together. On their way back to the main room where the ship was controlled from, Goku looked at his Saiyan wife. "What do I call you?" he asked, confused as to which name he should use. She chuckled a bit at this simple question.

            "I prefer my Saiyan name," she explained. "I don't like being named with such a pathetic human name. It is almost an insult to my power."

            "I kept my Earth name," Goku replied, hoping that she'd change her mind. He figured that something she'd gotten used to after such a long period of time was something she wouldn't just stop doing.

            It was no use. "That just shows how prideless you are, Goku," responded Chakuri. "I know how you are, Goku, but you really sound better as Kakarot than as Goku. Don't you want to show your late father some respect and keep the name he gave you?"

            Goku rolled his eyes. "How can I show respect to someone I've never seen or met before?" the question sounded rational to him, although Chakuri couldn't understand the purpose behind such an absurd question. It was considered a sign of disrespect among Saiyans to drop the name that your parents gave you. Then again, he'd know nothing of Saiyan ways, primarily because he had always grown up amongst the pathetic humans. He'd been their protector, a role which Kelietya had always considered to be a useless role in life, as well as a waste of his fine Saiyan power. This was a common feeling among Kelietya's troops because they all thought that a better use of his talents was to help further the Saiyan cause and teach his wisdom to his own people, instead of being the protector of a single planet of people. No, none of them would probably ever understand the mentality of Goku.

            "Lieutenant," Kelietya ordered, sliding open the door and entering the primary control room. "Set the ship's path towards the planet we were about to go to." The lieutenant was about to throw the switch to the fastest non-warp speed, when the alarm began to bellow; an incoming distress signal was being transmitted to all available ships. Kelietya ordered the message brought up on screen. What she saw before her, was terrorizing. One of her fellow Saiyan generals was being attacked from behind, a tall shadowy figure approaching him.

            "Help us!" he screeched. "An evil force is taking control of our people by entering through an open wound, then spreading from one to another like a virus, taking physical and mental control of every person he enters! If you can help us, we'd vastly appreciate it!"

            Kelietya turned to Goku, and saw that he was as taken by surprise as she was. How could something like this happen? What kind of alien could possess people through a cut, then move to another like a virus and do the same thing? In any case, it was a Saiyan tradition to help one another in need; no more of the whole kill-your-brother-because-he's-weaker-than-you crap started by King Vegeta the first, Kelietya's new order would give help when another was in need. She had always hated the way king Vegeta mangled the goodness of Saiyan pride into something so evil.

            "Change course! Immediately!" She announced. "Head for that planet!"

            The lieutenant immediately typed up the new planet's coordinates, and then switched the ship to full super-light speed; this was an emergency, and sub-light speeds might take too long. Like normal, everyone froze for an instant which seemed to last far longer, then popped back into reality again. The ship's crew had gotten better; they had set the computer to cloak even before the time-space barrier was broken, so they'd never appear on radar until it was too late.

            "Put us down on that planet, Lieutenant!" beckoned Kelietya. "Make sure no one knows of our presence." She turned to Goku, who was more than ready for a battle. Goku, as she knew from witnessing his performance against Teneko, would go into this battle head-on, but with a very good plan that he would come up with very quickly. She could tell that he was worried about his fellow Saiyan, even though all the Saiyans he'd met up until seeing her had been evil and threatened him. Even the general's instincts were surprised.

            "If you're fighting," Chakuri announced, smiling eagerly, "I'm fighting with you. There's no way I'm getting to miss out on the action!"

            "I wouldn't expect anything less of you, Chi…I mean, Chakuri," he replied, catching his mistake mid-sentence. "Sorry. I guess I'm not used to your new name."

            Chakuri rolled her eyes. "Look," she fired back. "If it's that much trouble, just call me 'Chi-Chi.'"

            "Jeez!" he responded. "I'm sorry for calling you by your human name!"

            She shook her head. "I…it's not that," she reassured him. "I just haven't had a decent battle in so long, I'm very eager."

            The ship quickly landed on the planet, and Kelietya's servants pulled up the scene on the main image viewer. What they saw was shocking; all of the Saiyans were bowing before the Saiyan general that had been on screen a while ago, but only this time, he appeared to be greatly different. His hair was solid white, and he had red lines extending down from his forehead down into his eyes, making him look like he had been infected by whatever being this was. Kelietya knew to stay on guard; more than likely, anyone who was infected could spread the infection, causing more slaves of this creature.

            "Make sure you stay on guard!" Kelietya beckoned to Goku and Chakuri, both of whom were ready to enter into mortal combat. "If I'm right, not only can this creature infect you, but his slaves can also infect you! Stay on guard and DON'T get cut!"

            The exit ramp lowered fully, allowing the Saiyan trio to walk down onto the planet. The marvel of Saiyan technologies meant that as long as they stayed within the effective field of the cloaking mechanism, they could even walk out onto the planet and still remain invisible and undetectable. Realizing this, Goku, Chakuri and Kelietya quietly stepped out, making sure not to disturb the air too much, and marked their targets for attack.

            Goku raised a fist to the air. "Haaaa!" he screeched, raising his power level up to and beyond super Saiyan four. Chakuri put herself into her energy gathering stance and let the power flow. It took only a few seconds, but after powering up, she was in the Holy Saiyan form that she had shown to Goku only a little while earlier. Goku was amazed; he was losing power already now that he was at his apex. His wife, however, wasn't even sweating. Incredible that she could sit back and let this lay dormant while Cell and others like Frieza challenged the good of all humanity. Kelietya smiled, squinting at the same time for her semi-evil smile; this power was something she hadn't seen in far too long. As powerful as Goku is, Chakuri would be sure to amaze him by how powerful she was. She was more than likely far beyond him.

            "Not bad, sister," mused Kelietya. "I'm still far beyond both of you, however." She then clenched her fists, and charged herself up, the force of which almost blew Goku and Chakuri in opposite directions. Her hair was solid white, slightly unlike Chakuri's, but her power was at least quite a bit higher. "Lieutenant! Turn off the cloaking! We're about to make our presence known!"

            A few seconds later and a couple hundred Saiyans were staring at a spaceship, and three especially powerful of their own kind directly in front of it. "Do or die!" shrieked Chakuri, launching herself forward at the crowd. Goku shook his head; boy, these two needed to learn the art of subtlety. Unable to stop what had already started, however, he launched himself forth at the crowd as well.

            The battle was one that Goku hadn't fought. Ever.

            He'd fought many one on one's and even some one on seven's, but never a three on seventeen thousand. He quickly learned-after several kick attempts-that he had to modify his nice, neat little plan. He would take into account, of course, the extra sixteen thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine. After rethinking his strategy, he began to throw specific fists and kicks at random targets, throwing many lesser Saiyans backwards and unconscious. Sometimes, one sent by a kick would bounce, taking out several others. Even though he'd never grown up a Saiyan lifestyle, he knew that this was the type of battle that Saiyans were meant for. Not one on one, but one on many. Kelietya smiled to herself; it was incredible that he could catch on so quickly. It took her years of battle-torn Namekian landscapes to learn how to take on an entire military force at once and succeed, and this baka mastered it instantly. Goku was merely throwing hardened hits at whoever was closest to him. And, to the other two's amazement, it was working.

            Ah, this was what Chakuri had waited for during the past seventeen years of living a peaceful life with Goku; a battle in which there were many of the enemy, few of you, and limited time to do it in. She cursed her blatant order-obeying self; she only imagined how it could have been if Goku could've experienced this joy earlier in life. She would smile a bit more every time she felt her fist plow into an enemy and hurl him backwards into thirty of his own kind, taking all of them down.

            The Saiyan general who sent the emergency message to Kelietya, who was currently infected, folded his arms and frowned angrily upon this latest development. As he stood there watching, his entire force of Saiyans was slowly brought down by these three. Where had they come from, and why didn't he see this before? How could they be as powerful as they were? Then it occurred to him; the Saiyan general had sent them an emergency message before infection.

            "Saiyans!" he bellowed, catching the attention of the three as they stood on the scene which was littered with unconscious Saiyan bodies. "You may've defeated my troops, but I am far beyond what you think!"

            _We'll see about that,_ Kelietya thought.

            The trio quickly flew up to where the Saiyan general was. Sensing danger, he disappeared and reappeared next to Chakuri. Before she could respond, however, a gray mass shot out of the general's body and into Chakuri through her mouth. Instantly later, Goku delivered a sharp kick to the side of the general's head, throwing him far away from Chakuri, who was struggling.

            "You foolish Saiyans who destroyed my planet are going to pay," Chakuri said, the sound of another's voice directly beneath her own. "The Tsurufu shall be reborn!"

            Kelietya's eyes flew open wide; on no, was he back?! _NO! _she screamed mentally. _He can't be back! Not Bebi!_

            Goku whirled around rapidly. _Who the fu—is Bebi?!_ He mentally shrieked. Unfortunately, he was kneed in the head by his wife before an explanation could be given. Wondering what had happened, he tried to block but was again kneed in the head. This time, her knee had more force than the previous attempt. Shaking it off and entering battle mode, Goku threw forth a fist that caught itself on the upswing into directly below Chakuri's chest. He was about to throw a second hit when, mid-swing, he realized the truth as to what had happened.

            "Chakuri!" he bellowed, speaking just as she was about to hurl a fist at his face. "If you're in there, try to gain control!" She was about to nail him when her fist suddenly stopped.

            "Leave me alone!" a voice deep within Chakuri beckoned. "I don't want to be part of your stupid, evil ways! I'm a proud Saiyan!"

                "No!" cried Bebi. "I should have complete control over this body!"

            Chakuri's voice was weak, but she could not be denied. "Well, you don't!" she fired back at the powerful Tsurufu. Goku, sensing his wife's plight, he decided to find out how dire her situation was.

            "Chi-Chi!" he said, desperately trying to communicate with his wife even though she was infected. "How's your condition?!"

            Kelietya flew up near Goku. "She can try to fight it off," explained Kelietya, "but it'll take quite a bit of effort. More than likely though it's the only way for her to rid herself of it. In the meantime, we need to kill that general! I get the feeling the main creature is in him! The instant he dies the other infections will die, letting the others go back to controlling themselves."

            Goku nodded, and the two of them flew up to where the general was and charged him with fists extended and moving at top speed. Chakuri was desperately trying to keep the creature's DNA inside her from taking over her. This Bebi would be far stronger if he got a hold of her. Unfortunately, her sister Kelietya was right; it was taking all of her strength just to keep the creature's DNA at bay. It wouldn't be long now before she could fight it no longer.

            The general that made the earlier call, who was fully under Bebi's control, braced himself for impact. Goku and Kelietya yelled out loud, making their power reach its absolute maximum. Both landed direct hits at the general's abdomen area just in time. They broke through him like a knife through butter. His eyes grew wide just as he was ripped completely in half. Kelietya and Goku whirled around the instant they had gone through him, and fired separate ki shots aimed at the two halves of the general. They hit just in time; a huge gray mass with a head forming was just exiting the general's body. He didn't escape in time, and was atomized in the blinding heat of the ki blasts.

            Goku saw that Chakuri's violent shaking and twisting slowed down rapidly, and she didn't have enough ki left to remain airborne. He flew down and caught her just as her last bit of power gave out. Kelietya put her hand on her sister's head, and fed a bit of ki into her.

            "There," she explained. "That'll keep her alive until we get to Kemorda."

            Goku raised his left eyebrow. "Why Kemorda?" he inquired. "And why can't you just feed enough ki into her to fully recover her?"

            "Kemorda is the best medical service planet in the universe," she answered. "It even beats Vedal. And I can't give her more ki because it might do her more harm than good. Let her recover on her own."

            Goku and Kelietya hurled through the air, entering the ship. Kelietya fired a message to the Commander to get the ship moving, and he ran to the main deck. Kelietya ran with Goku to the medical room, where they put Chakuri in the regeneration chamber. "This'll keep her ki at a sturdy level until we get there," she explained further. "Because she hasn't had time to fully undo the infection, she must stay here, and we BOTH must stay here to make sure the infection doesn't take full form again."

            She faced the technician. "Go to the main deck and inform Commander Teneko he's in temporary command until we get to Kemorda."

            Commander Teneko was in the main room in less than a second. He quickly relayed Kelietya's order to hit it to super-light speed and head to Kemorda. As the lieutenant punched in the main coordinates, Teneko got on the main emergency line directly with planet Kemorda.

            "Attention, medical service planet Kemorda," repeated Teneko. "This is Saiyan Interstellar Transport one. We have onboard a Saiyan, level 3-AX, female, age close to seven hundred, body composition type Alpha-Tango 2A. Possible Bebi-virus infection."

            A few seconds went by, then a voice replied, "Roger, S.I.T. one. Land on Central Deck Three. Due to possible Bebi-virus infection, all personnel will have to be thoroughly screened for infection. Sorry for any inconvenience."

            Teneko nodded, and the lieutenant pulled the lever to its farthest position. Everyone who knew what was going on held their breath as time froze-just like it always did-for that brief, yet eternal, instant.


	5. Chapter Five

Definition of Pride

By Moonraker One

Chapter Five - An Empire Reborn

            Once the ship had exited hyperspace, Teneko ordered the ship be put into emergency mode; this meant the ship was to be landed as fast as possible, all crew were to be analyzed for possible infection, and all able-bodied warriors were to help the highest ranking officer on the ship. Outside, on the deck where the medical operatives were positioned, ready to retrieve the patient, there was much ado about what the patient was truly suffering from. Could she truly be suffering from an infection of the Bebi virus? A patient with that type of a physical infection hadn't shown itself around this planet in close to twelve thousand years. It had been widely held that the Bebi virus died with planet Tuffle, but no one knew for sure. For all they knew, the patient could just have something else. Or, as they hoped wasn't the case, Commander Teneko could be right about what was ailing that Saiyan female they had aboard.

            Goku had close to a billion thoughts running through his mind; most of them were related to whether or not his wife would be fine or not. He'd never seen such a thing before where a being could possess people like a demon, then spread from person to person like a virus. He figured it was something to do with the rest of the species like this Bebi creature, but what exactly was the history of the Tsurufu? He turned to Kelietya.

            "The Tsurufu?" she replied. "What do you want to know about them?"

            "Their history," Goku said. "Also why they'd create something like Bebi just to hurt Saiyans."

            Kelietya let out a big sigh; this was not a piece of the past that she'd want to remember. However, she felt obligated to explain it. "The Tsurufu were the species that we Saiyans shared planet Plant with long before it was ours to control. Even with our immense power, we could only equal their immense technologies, until the full moon came out. Once that happened, we were able to exterminate the lot of them," she explained, not leaving out a single detail. "Unfortunately, we could not have anticipated their secret project. They created a genetically-altered Tsurufu from their king's DNA. This creature became stronger with each slave that it infected. Until we defeated it with the help from the Kaioshins."

            Goku blinked. "It…got so bad it brought the higher kais into this?" he inquired, amazed by such a fact.

            Kelietya didn't say anything, she merely nodded. This indicated she was not in the mood to continue this explanation. Inside the tank, Chakuri's body was shaking left and right slightly, closely monitored by Goku and Kelietya. Her ki was at its normal level; now, it was a matter of how long she could fight the infection by her own will before she was taken into the medical center and treated. Kelietya reassured Goku that they would give her the best possible antidote to Bebi's infection, one that was sure to take a long time. After all, this was not a typical infection; ninety percent of her cells had traces of Bebi DNA in them. Chakuri had to, by the force of will alone, prevent all her body from being taken over.

            The emergency door at the back of the medical room of the ship slid open rapidly, and a few dozen medical workers-clad in air-tight suits-came in to carefully extract the Saiyan female from the chamber. The opening at the top of the regeneration chamber slid open, and the water drained from the pipes hooked up near the bottom. Two workers reached in and pulled Chakuri from the chamber by her armpits, holding her tight despite the struggling. Their serious faces seemed to indicate a feeling of doubt amongst the personnel. Goku, however, could tell that they'd handled this type of problem before; even if it was quite a bit of time ago.

            Kelietya and Goku exited the ship, walking up to the main doctor who was going to treat the infection endured by Chakuri. They both had serious questions to ask him, and he was more than ready to provide answers.

            "Is my wife going to be okay?" asked Goku. The doctor couldn't help but smile at a question like this.

            "She's in the finest hands in the universe," was the reply. "Also, I noted that only ninety percent of her cells were infected. It's only beyond ninety-five that it becomes a problem. She'll be put at ultra-urgent need level, so that way she'll be seen first."

            Kelietya turned to Goku. "See?" she said. "I'm sure she'll be fine." She then faced the doctor. "Doc, if there's any issues about repayment, bill the Saiyan government, financial division."

            Goku noticed Kelietya turning back in the direction of the ship. "Don't you want to stay here with your sister?" inquired Goku, confused about her lack of interest in her sister's well-being.

            Kelietya smiled. "Tell you the truth, the last case twelve thousand or so years ago was our father," she replied. "I'm more than sure she can survive. After all, we still have to get you back to planet Saiya for your coronation."

            "But…" he replied. "I think my wife and your sister is more important than my coronation!"

            Kelietya rolled her eyes. "If you're so concerned," Kelietya said, "I'll stay here and you go with Teneko back to home planet, but you must be there by this midnight or the coronation committee will automatically give the throne to the next royal-blooded Saiyan."

            "Vegeta," Goku said, quickly realizing.

            "Yes, Kakarot," she agreed, reminding him with her tone that he was not ready. "And we both know he's unworthy, and what he'll do with that kind of authority. He is unworthy and will bring much shame and bloodshed to our new empire. I will NOT allow it. Either you go, or we both go. End of story, my friend."

            Goku had no choice but to give in. After all, he could practically envision the endless blood that Vegeta would shed in the name of the new Royal Saiyan Empire. Goku could not allow him to massacre that many innocents. He did feel that his own family was more than important at the moment, but once again, he let his emotions rule his decision. She didn't give him enough time to properly decide whether to stay or go; that's they way she'd planned it.

            Once back on the ship, commander Teneko took his position at his post near the captain. Kelietya ascended the five-step mini staircase to her seat—naturally the highest position in the room—and motioned for the lieutenant to move the ship. By this point, Goku was pondering whether or not this was a wise decision. _I really should've stayed behind with Chi-Chi,_ he thought. He slapped himself; he probably was never going to remember to say "Chakuri" instead of "Chi-Chi."

            All the people in the ship braced themselves for when the lieutenant at he main control panel threw the lever to its max position, sending them all into hyperspace. The eternal instant came and went, and there before them was their beautiful home planet. Sky red as can be and scenery as green as the water of Namek. Ah, Namek; just the thought brought memories of years of training young green kids how to fight back to Kelietya's mind. She wished she could return there someday, possibly to thank the great elder for the glory he allowed her to have. At the same time, however, she knew what her mission was, and how to do it.

            The ramp slid open a few minutes after landing; out strolled Goku, eager to get what he had to get done done so that he could go about talking with his friends. What he wasn't expecting, though, was all of the z-fighters to be awaiting him the instant he stepped off the ship. Vegeta walked up to him, and despite all odds, shook his hand.

            "I'm glad the throne of the mightiest empire in the universe be given to its mightiest warrior," Vegeta said, causing Goku to question if this was Vegeta or not. When Vegeta pulled Goku closer, however, he was assured it was him. "But if any devastation befalls us," he added, "I'll be the first to kill you."

            Krillin noticed something no one else was noticing. "There's Kelietya, you're here, Teneko's there," Krillin explained. "But where's Chi-Chi? Didn't she come back?"

            Goku scratched the back of his head. "She's being treated on planet Kemorda," Goku said. "She got hurt on some planet. Don't worry, guys, she'll be fine." He was surprised that he was so sure of his own words. He really wasn't; he simply let Kelietya talk him into it. He wasn't really here to get back on track with his friends. He was here to prevent Vegeta from causing problems, then immediately return to Kemorda. He couldn't handle it any longer; he had to leave NOW.

            "Kelietya," he explained. "I have to leave. I simply must know of my wife's condition!"

            She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Kakarot," she replied. "The doc's got my scouter data so he can contact me."

            "I thought you could sense ki!" Goku said, surprised she'd need one.

            "I can, you putz," she fired back. "I use it to communicate with troops!"

                Goku thought a minute; perhaps he did have a way. "This…coronation thing; it means I'll be king, right?"

            Kelietya raised an eyebrow; did she hear the retarded question she'd just heard?

            "Yes," she said, tilting her head to the side, as if to imply his stupidity.

            "Well," Goku added. "As my first order as King of the Saiyans, I command you to check on my wife's condition."

            Kelietya rolled her eyes; Goku was jumping the gun just a little bit. "Don't worry, idiot," she replied. "I'll be on my way just as soon as this is over."

            Goku looked at her expectantly. "Why…can't you go now?"

            "Because you're not king until you get crowned," she replied. "That means you can't give me orders until after the coronation!"

            Goku nodded in agreement. "Ah. I wasn't aware of that."

            Vegeta knew that he was permanently surrendering his chances of ever becoming king of his people, but it didn't matter to him. He had been around Goku long enough to realize that if anyone was suitable to rule the mightiest empire in the cosmos, it was Goku alone. Vegeta knew that he was not worthy of ruling the Saiyan empire, because more than likely, he'd cause wars and death; many of the things that Goku tried so hard to prevent. He didn't want to get seduced by his own power that he'd get from being crowned.

            Kelietya had served kings before, but none of the people that she served ruled in the same way that this Saiyan was going to rule; King Vegeta, the one that she served under, was a endless warmonger. On Namek, the senior elder despised combat of any kind, believing only in peace. If it wasn't for the threatening of their existence, the Namekian Civil War might never have taken place. She could sense that Goku would do whatever he could to protect this new Saiyan Empire that she'd rebuilt. After all, she would not have turned control over to anyone who she felt would cause its premature demise. This was good; two people with differing opinions had the same belief about his ability to rule the Saiyan Empire.

            Walking towards the Main Palace of the Saiyan King, he pondered what this new role of his would mean for him. He had never had experience ruling anyone, so this was a task he'd just have to get used to. He shook his head; he just couldn't continue this without his wife's presence.

            "Kelietya?" he asked, trying to get her attention.

            "Hmm?" she uttered, taking her attention off of Teneko carrying on a discussion with Piccolo to face Goku. "What do you want, Kakarot?"

            "I'm sorry, but if I don't know what my wife's situation is, I just can't let this go on," he explained. Kelietya rolled her eyes again; didn't he ever have any faith in doctors? She quickly shook off that notion; she knew that he hated doctors for the fact that they gave injections.

            "Fine," she fired back. "I'll call immediately." Goku stopped in mid-step, and waited for her to press the button on her scouter. It beeped and clicked, and then, white noise was heard as the communication line was opened.

            "Doctor?" she said. "This is General Kelietya, Saiyan Supreme Commander. How is the physical condition of my sister, Chakuri?"

            She waited a few seconds, and Goku tried in vain to make out the doc's words to Kelietya, and then she clicked off her scouter. "Don't worry, Kakarot," she uttered. "Your wife is fine. She's been given a medicine to remove the infection, and is now regaining her strength in the recovery room."

            "Can we continue?" Kelietya asked, frustrated as to this Saiyan's lack of faith in medicine.

            "Yup," Goku gleefully responded. "I'm ready."

                And so, the coronation was back on. Kelietya was happy; this was probably the first time in ages that a plan of hers was working properly. Her brand new Saiyan empire was going well, and it had thus found a new ruler, and he was one that would never allow bad things to happen to it or its people. Goku was happy, despite the fact that he'd been uprooted from his nice little life and put in this new one, and he was about to assume his new role. He even knew of what he'd do once he became king. He'd try to make peace with the race that destroyed the previous home planet of the Saiyan Empire; the Cardarians, which were Frieza's race. After all, how hard could it be?

                The ceremony was not a long one. Goku kneeled before Kelietya, who tapped the golden sword on his shoulders, then recited the ancient writings. Almost as quickly as it started, the coronation was complete and he was deemed king of the new Saiyan Empire. Yet, it seemed blank without his wife. Not a problem; he'd be with her very quickly. In fact, he was out of there before the crowd gathering in the front could hound him with questions. For some strange reason, the crowd seemed to know the plight he was in mentally, with his worrying over seeing his wife. He didn't know it, but this was the "Saiyan brotherhood" that Kelietya was talking about earlier. Walking towards the ship, he was going to leave immediately for Kemorda.

                Kelietya stopped him. "You must stay here, Kakarot," she assured him. "As the new king, no evil must become you. To prevent harm, you must stay here."

            "I have to see my wife," he objected. "If I don't see her soon I won't feel right."

                She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry!" she said, raising her voice. "I'll bring her right back! There's just something else I've gotta do!"

            Walking back onto the ship, Kelietya quickly got the ship back in gear, and took off. Goku looked on, wondering to himself what the task was that she had to do that couldn't involve him. It didn't matter; as long as his wife was brought back to him safely and carefully, he didn't care what she had to do. A Saiyan commander came walking up to Goku, eagerly trying to get his attention.

            "Your excellency!" he yelled, dashing up. "I've been ordered to get you acquainted with the technology you'll be using. If you'd be so kind as to come with me, I'd much appreciate it, sir!"

            He had nothing better to do, so he went with the commander. He was led into the castle, and into the main chambers of the king where he'd conduct the main of his business. The commander got him acquainted with his royal scouter, which was modified especially for the king alone.

            "This is your scouter, sir," explained the commander. "This has been modified especially for you. Because you mentioned earlier you can read power levels, yours has been modified not to measure exact power levels. Instead, the main focus of the technology is to communicate with any of your forces which are active in the area."

            Goku attached the device to his ear. The commander then picked up a pair of wristbands, which looked exactly like Goku's old ones. "These," he continued, "have been modified to constantly monitor your heart rate and ki level. If your health drops below a certain point, our people are alerted instantly, and secretly, due to sub-level radiation transmission."

            The commander then pulled from a box a uniform that looked extremely royal. It was typical Saiyan armor, except it had a bright orange cape attached to the normal shoulder wings. On it was—like he'd always worn—the north Kai's symbol, little and on the top of the left chest plate. Along with it was the dark blue undersuit; just like all Saiyan elite-class warriors wore under their armor. It was the exact same type King Vegeta had worn, only modified.

            "This," the commander explained with pride in his voice, "is your uniform. It has been modified to repair itself instantly and the tissue directly below it. Except in extreme cases, it will also absorb ki from an energy wave."

            Goku took the uniform, then told the commander he could leave. The commander gave the Saiyan salute—a closed fist over the heart—then exited the royal chamber. Goku quietly and rapidly slipped off his GI and put on the undersuit. Once it was on, he slipped the armor on over it. He was amazed by how well it fit him; he had always worn clothing that was slightly too loose to prevent the impediment on speed. This, however, was tight enough AND flexible. It was unlike anything he'd worn before. Perhaps he'd get used to wearing it.

            Back on the ship, Kelietya had gone to Kemorda and picked up Chakuri—she was fine—and had left for another planet on which she'd gotten a strange interstellar signal. Obviously, someone on this planet had heard of Kelietya's ship and wanted her to come to their planet. Obviously, she was cautious, but she did not sense any problem from going there; she was good at sensing danger on the horizon. It was strange that she'd get such a signal from a planet so far away. 

            "King Kakarot has told me he wants to be with his wife shortly," said Kelietya to her lieutenant. "In order for us to be there and back quickly we must go through hyperspace. Make the jump!"

            The lieutenant nodded, and threw forth the lever to its farthest point. Instantly, the typical time freeze came and went. Afterwards, she looked questioningly at the planet she saw onscreen; it looked to her like she'd seen it before. She ordered the lieutenant to land the ship without cloaking. She was certain that she'd seen the planet before, and that it was not an enemy planet. In fact, it seemed to her—she sensed it because of an energy signal coming from the planet—like the planet was Saiyan controlled.

            Upon landing, Kelietya sensed an incredibly familiar ki signal from a powerful being. She was the most eager to exit the ship; only Commander Teneko was in front of her. As soon as the ramp descended, the commander and the general stepped out of the ship, and saw before them, a thousand Saiyan soldiers strong. The one at front's eyes grew big when he saw who was standing before him, next to the Namekian.

            "It…can't be!" he cried. "I…must inform the general at once!"

            He tried to run, but Kelietya grabbed the back of his armor. "Tell who what, soldier?" she inquired.

            "I…I must tell general Kelt his daughter is here!"

            Her mouth dropped open, and she whirled the soldier around to face her.

            "D…Did you say General Kelt!?" she screeched, at a loss for words. "Kelt!? I thought my father had been killed by Vegeta the first!"

            "Commander Teneko!" she said to her commander. "Come with me. I must see if this Saiyan is telling the truth. If he is lying, I want you to remove his lying tongue for such a profound lie."

            Teneko popped his knuckles. "As you wish, ma'am general," he said, smiling.

            She walked with the soldier up a hillside until they got to a Saiyan military base. As the door was slid open, the soldier bowed immediately. Kelietya was partially masked by darkness, so he couldn't see her, but indeed it was her father.

            "Saiyan woman!" Kelt called out. "Why aren't you bowing? What is your name and rank?"

            "Name: Kelietya," she replied. "Rank: General, supreme commander of Saiyan allied forces."

            Kelt stood up, pushing four Saiyans out of the way. "YOU L…" he started to shout, until she stepped out of the shadow of the doorway. "K…Ke…KELIETYA!?"

            She draped her arms around him. "I thought I'd lost you forever, father," she tearfully said. "How'd you ever escape!?"

            "How'd YOU escape?!" he asked. "As I was tortured, I was told they'd killed you! Were you sent off?"

            "To Namek," she replied. "It's where I met my loyal commander. Teneko! Introduce yourself to my father!"

            The large Namekian stepped forth, standing a whole foot taller than Kelt. Kelt shook hands with the huge Namekian, noting his incredibly firm handshake. "Anyone who's my daughter's friend is mine too," he said to the Namekian warrior.

            "I have some news that you might like to know," Kelietya told her father. "The son of the previous king Vegeta is not the king this time. We've found planet Saiya and started a new empire with Kakarot as king."

            "So, you found our holy planet," he said with pride. "I always knew someone in my family would. This Kakarot…isn't he the legendary 'Saiyan Savior'? The child of a third-class warrior who breaks out of his birth class?"

            Kelietya nodded. "Also," she replied, "he's trying to make peace with the Cardarians."

            Kelt seemed to suddenly become scared, as if he'd seen a ghost. "That…is impossible!" he yelled.

            Kelietya tilted her head, confusedly. "Why?"

            "The Cardarians have betrayed us!" Kelt screeched. "Just last week, an attempt was made on seven different colonies across the galaxy! It all goes back to old planet Vegeta's space!"

            She thought a minute. He explained his thoughts. "Because they own the space our OLD empire was in, they can attack all the different colonies at once! There's far too many openings! In a second, they could launch a full-scale assault!"

            Kelietya's mouth dropped open. "Good god in heaven," she whispered, shocked over this revelation. "We must get this news back to King Kakarot!"

            "Impossible," Kelt said, shaking his head. "We do not have the technology to get to Saiya in time."

            Kelietya smiled; she could still get back!

            "We've got hyperspace technology!" she yelled. "In a few seconds, we can be there!"

            Kelt nodded. "We must go immediately."

            As they tore off towards the ship, they were eager to get the news back, yet apprehensive over the dangers.


	6. Chapter Six

Definition of Pride

By Moonraker One

Chapter Six – Fight for Saiyan Independence

            Goku, sitting at his post in the royal chamber, saw that on the radar that had been installed, a ship entering Saiyan airspace. The scouter he was wearing started to beep, so he pressed the button. Immediately, a Saiyan soldier appeared in his eyepiece.

            "Sir!" he cried, his voice dire-sounding. "General Kelietya's ship is reentering Saiyan airspace, and she has an urgent message for the king's eyes only! Should I patch her through?"

            "Yes," Goku replied, pressing the button. "Let me talk to her."

            The soldier disappeared from his eyepiece, which was followed by a click and a beep, and then Kelietya was in front of his view. "King Kakarot, sir!" she yelled. "The Cardarian Empire has decided to betray us! We must prepare for a full-scale attack!"

            Goku's facial expression suddenly became more serious. "What?!" he asked. "We've been betrayed!?"

            Kelietya nodded. "Affirmative," she replied. "Our troops must be sent into combat!"

            Goku thought a minute; this was not what he was ready to do. He was not worried about his people's ability to defend their homes, he was worried about whether or not they were ready to. He knew it would be suicidal to send unprepared troops into battle.

            "Kelietya," he asked. "Are there any troops already prepared for combat?"

            "Yes," she explained. "My troops are always ready. I've got twelve thousand strong."

            Goku smiled; this was good news. However, he knew that if his plan—which he already had doubts over—was to work, he'd have to make sure his empire was fully protected at all times. He couldn't be training troops if he didn't have constant assurance that his people were protected from attack. He had one more question to ask her.

            "Okay," he continued. "I want you to have your troops—most of which I believe are already prepared for combat—to be distributed among the twelve different colonies. Since there is only one entry point at which they could attack each colony, that makes for a thousand troops at each entry point."

            "I'll send a message to my forces immediately!" he told him. "In the meantime, me and my father are headed back to base to receive more instructions from you, sire." Her image beeped, then vanished. He pressed the button on his scouter to get a message through to all available generals.

            "Attention, all Generals and Supreme Commanders!" he announced. "Please meet in the war room immediately for emergency war instructions!" His beckoning caused a mild uproar in the soldiers' barracks, but the upheaval was quickly resolved. At the moment, there were seven generals not including Kelietya and her father, and they all were quite skilled in the arts of war. Goku, the king who was just getting used to his position, was not aware his strategic talents were to come into use so quickly. In any case, Frieza's race was not a race of weaklings. If he was to indeed come out with minimal losses, it would take all of his efforts, and the efforts of all the others as well.

            He dashed to the war room. Inside, there was all available generals, including Kelietya and her father. They were all ready with whatever data they had to give Goku a full debriefing on the situation.

            "Whichever of you knows the most about what is happening should give me what you know," explained Goku.

            Kelt nodded and pushed over a file folder. "Kakarot, sire," he began. "The Cardarian empire has a battle-ready fleet of two hundred thousand, available to deploy to any of the colonies at a moment's notice. They have also expressed malicious intent, and my tech crew received a full declaration of war effective immediately."

            Goku thought a minute. "Where are most of their forces stationed?" he inquired.

            "I'll answer that, Kakarot sir," General Metano said. "They have about seventy percent of their forces positioned on the third moon adjacent to where old Planet Vegeta was. That's the one you call 'Moon Fenzi'."

            General Kelietya interrupted him. "But Metano," she shot in his direction. "That moon is guarded by a massive force field! We'd never get to it!"

            Kelt had an idea. "Unless," he began, "we were to destroy the five different energy generating plants stationed on the moons circling Fenzi. It would require, I estimate, five thousand troops apiece with power levels suppressed until they could enter the plant. After that, it would just be a matter of annihilating the plant before an emergency signal could be given."

            His daughter added to his idea. "Yeah!" she shouted. "It could very well work! Each of these generals has close to a hundred thousand troops which are under their control. I have my fleet as reserve waiting for orders and training!"

            _Ten generals,_ Goku thought. _That means that in all, there's close to a million troops among them. If each one of their forces are made ready in a short time, there'll be a viable strategy!_

            He quickly interrupted his nervous pacing to face the crowd. "Tell me, my fellow generals," called Goku. "Who among you have achieved Super Saiyan status?" To this question, all present raised their hands. Rapidly taking note of this, he followed up with, "Of you, who has most of their soldiers at the same level?" To this, almost all of the generals raised their hands. _Good, good,_ thought Goku. _That's more than enough; I'm certain._

            Goku turned to the solder waiting at the door for any instruction, and said, "Commander, could you gather my friends Piccolo, Vegeta, my son Gohan, my wife Chakuri, and my friend Bulma." The soldier saluted with fist over heart and swiftly left the chamber. Goku paced back and forth for a few minutes, thinking of his plan. Kelietya looked over at her father.

            _What do you think Kakarot has as a plan?_ she asked her father telepathically.

            _Hmm…I suppose, _Kelt replied. _I'm sure he's done this type of strategizing on Earth, only differently._

            _What do you mean?_

            _Think of it; he has never taken soldiers into account when planning for evil forces before._

            In a few minutes—among the longest few minutes of his life—all of his friends he requested were in the room. Some of them were confused as to why they were there—like Chakuri—and some were angry as to why they weren't called immediately, like Vegeta. In any case, they were rapidly debriefed on the situation. Piccolo was able to read Goku's mind, so he was aware of why he was needed.

            "All of you will be given the duty of preparing your troops for battle," Goku explained to a nervous crowd of officials. "Piccolo and Vegeta will give your troops the training they need. My son Gohan will give YOU private training, so you can be on the battlefield as well. My wife Chakuri will be my military liaison between you and me, which will keep us constantly in touch."

            "And what of your other friend?" inquired Kelt.

            "Bulma," Goku finished, "will be head scientist of our military weapons science division."

            "Ahem," Kelietya interjected. "We don't have a military weapons science division."

            This was an impasse. For a solution to this problem, Goku thought a few minutes. When the idea hit him, he smiled. "Well," responded the new king, "gather the smartest scientists you know of, and there'll be our military weapons science division!"

            Each of the generals left the room, all knowing what their task was. Vegeta confronted Goku first after leaving the room. He seemed slightly worried. At the same time, however, he seemed excited. He looked up at his constantly-superior friend, then looked down, analyzing the formal attire Goku was wearing. He smiled a mischievous-looking smile.

            "Why, doesn't that caped armor suit you well, Kakarot!" he exclaimed, his complement taking Goku by surprise. "I was always used to seeing you in that prideless orange GI. This is FAR more suiting the mighty king."

            "I get the feeling that's not what you wanted to say, though," replied Goku.

            Vegeta put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah," he replied, "you're right, as always. I wanted to say that I believe that of the two of us, the best man won. I see I was never as suited as you to command Saiyans into combat. Go ahead and win this war for our freedom!"

            Goku forced a half-smile. "Isn't this a switch!" he said. "You're wearing a leather jacket and pants—human clothes—and I'm wearing king's armor!" His statement forced even the stone-faced Vegeta to chuckle.

            "Yeah," Vegeta added, "and you're even telling ME what to do! Such irony!" Vegeta then waved, walking away to do what he'd been ordered to do. He couldn't help but smile; it had been years, and in those years, he and the Saiyan prince had never been friends. Now, only now that the tables had made a sharp turn, were they bonding like only buddies (STRAIGHT buddies, of course) could bond. As he wondered exactly how Vegeta could handle being ordered by his ever-better friend, up from behind came Chakuri and she smacked Goku on the butt.

            "I was worried about you," Chakuri said.

            Goku's eyes widened. "YOU were worried about ME!?" he shrieked. "I was worried about YOU!"  
            "Yeah, I was told—repeatedly—by my sis." Before Goku could respond to this, Chakuri pulled herself closer to him, and kissed him passionately. She then stood back. "As military liaison, what am I to do?"

            Goku thought a minute, then said, "I actually don't know what the hell it means!" They both laughed at this. The laughter was interrupted by Kelietya.

            "A liaison is a person who is the middleperson who keeps news moving between two sides," she explained.

            Chakuri and Kelietya then moved off, both knowing where to go, and left Goku standing there in the hallway to figure out where he was headed. For some reason, Teneko ran up to Goku, and he seemed to be concerned with something.

            "What's wrong, Commander?" inquired Goku.

            Teneko caught his breath for a minute. "Kakarot, sire," he replied in between breaths. "I would wish to return to Planet Earth at once."

            Goku lowered his eyebrows in a confused manner. "Why do you need to go back to Earth?" he asked.

            "Think of it, sire," Teneko explained. "Earth is extremely strategic territory."

            Goku was confused, but all of a sudden, his eyes grew wide. "THE DRAGONBALLS!" he yelled. "OH GEEZ! I FORGOT!"

            "I figured of that long before you did," a voice behind him said. He turned around, and it was Kelietya. "So I sent an entire fleet of reserves to protect Earth. Six thousand war ships with constant vigil over Earthen airspace."

            Goku let out a big sigh of relief. "Thanks, General," he replied. "What would I do without you?" She shook her head and walked away. Obviously, she was more  in tune with reality than he was at the moment, but that was probably because of the hectic few days he'd just had. He now had something else to worry about: the war that had just begun. Officially, the fighting hadn't started yet, and that was the reason he wanted to get his forces prepared. He didn't like the idea, but looking at the tenacity of the Cardarian Empire, he'd have to lead the side that struck first. He didn't usually attack until they'd started it, but now, he'd have to make the big decisions. Teneko patted him on the shoulder, reassuring him.

            "Don't worry," replied Teneko, "I'm sure you'll be one of the best kings that ever ruled. Your decisions are firm, yet caring and emotion-filled. I served with Kelietya under three different King Vegeta's and none of them had much in the feelings department." As the seven-foot Namekian walked away, Goku watched the lesser Saiyan soldiers salute to him, even though he wasn't one of them. It was incredible; he figured it was because they believed in him, but Saiyans aren't usually the kind that associate with other species. He smiled to himself; maybe Teneko was right.

            The training regimen began bright and early the next morning. Kelietya's troops, who were the ones keeping the Saiyan Empire safe from invasion, were on rotation every ten hours; she knew the importance of having forces constantly awake. A tired vigil can't guard well; this was one lesson she'd learned from the Namekian civil war. Piccolo and Vegeta were in the massive courtyard, giving training to each general's military forces, one group of a hundred thousand at a time. Both had trained people before—they each, on Earth, had their own dojos—but they'd never trained a hundred thousand at once. Fortunately, it was made easier by the fact that Saiyans caught on to training faster than any other species. Chakuri, the military liaison, was keeping news going between the generals and Goku, even though news was at a small note at this point. Bulma, who had started working with the crew of scientists, had already drawn up plans for a new crew transporter: it was a revolutionary new design that increased the efficiency of the warp drive mechanism, and it allowed for the transport of more troops with the same type of cloaking.

            And the king himself, what of him? Goku was in the mess hall, eating away cheerfully at his meal. The cooking here was remarkably good; now he knew that his kind could not only eat well, they could cook well as well. In any case, he was well aware of what was going on and his presence at the training sessions was remarkably unneeded, so he would just keep up to date with his generals. Even though the war was so far going slowly, and there was virtually no action, he knew that once it started there would be much ado in the area of fighting. The Cardarians were a people that weren't weak, nor were they one to give up quickly. They would fight until their last man, and that's what worried Goku. It worried him because he didn't know whether or not that would impede his chances of winning the battle. Then again, the same description of how they fight to the death also described his own people, so maybe it wasn't a bad omen after all.

            About three days into the training, a major attack was launched by the Cardarians on Felnir, one of the most important Saiyan weapons colonies. Kelietya, being the military genius, figured they were trying to destroy the enemy's armaments before they could launch a gathered attack. _Clever little bastards,_ she thought.

            "Kakarot!" yelled Chakuri, dashing up to him as he watched the training session. He turned to see his wife, and he saw that she was frightened, so it must have been important. "The enemy has launched an offensive!"

            He lowered his eyebrows. "Where?" he hastily asked.

            "Felnir!" she beckoned. "They're trying to disarm us before we can fight back!"

            The expression on his face was one halfway between shocked and angered. He was expecting the Cardarians to attack; he wasn't expecting them to attack Felnir. It seemed that he underestimated his opponents. It was also the first crisis he had to deal with.

            "General Kelietya?" asked Goku. "How are our defenses holding up at Felnir?"

            She looked over at him from the lieutenant giving her the field report. "Our defenses are holding up fine," she explained. "The Cardarians weren't able to get the element of surprise. In fact, they accidentally revealed their position far before they wanted to. We're suffering virtually no casualties."

            He smiled; this was good news. However, he knew not to get too happy this early into the fight. "Let me see an image of the battle scene," he said to Kelietya. She faced her subordinate officer.

            "Onscreen!" she bellowed. Instantly, the giant front screen showed a massive movement of Cardarian troops being driven backwards by Kelietya's forces. He saw that it was going well, but, something seemed unusual about the attack; the Cardarians were not trying as hard as they should. As if hit by a train of thought, his eyes widened. Kelietya came to the same realization as he did, only a second later.

            _My god!_ they thought in unison. _This is only a test to see how powerful we really are!_

            "General Kelietya!" said Goku. "They're launching a weak attack to see how powerful we are. We have to give them the impression that we're far superior to them, or else they'll proceed with a major offensive before we're ready!" She nodded; he was right. This was a positive note for her, for she noticed that he came up with this idea before she did. Perhaps he was a better strategist than her.

            "Captain!" she yelled at the soldier sitting at the comms post she was standing over. Without having to hear the rest of her order, he hastily dialed up a secure energy signal over which she could transmit with no worry of it being intercepted.

            "Ma'am," he replied, "use channel 123, sub-channels a-f. These have all been cleared of contacts and secured with tri-level encoding." She pressed the button on her scouter, then spoke with the lieutenant on the main battleship.

            On the ship, the lieutenant saw a beeping on his main control panel. Not taking his eyes off it, he spoke to his superior officer.

            "Sir!" he called. "Emergency message coming across channel 123, sub-channel e. Line is secured."

            "Hello, this is Sub-Commander Genta. Who am I speaking with?" he inquired. When he saw the image of the person he was talking to, he was quickly brought to attention.

            "This is General Kelietya," she replied. "I would like to tell you that the enemy fleet attacking your own is not trying to destroy you. They are trying to see what weaknesses are in Saiyan forces."

            He raised an eyebrow; what was this? "Their goal is…not to take this colony?" he said, but didn't believe this was true.

            "Oh no, they WANT the colony," she shot back. "However, that is a subordinate goal; they will be satisfied even if their entire attacking force you are facing is decimated. What we need to do, is make them think we're far superior to them. I order you to make sure the entire enemy fleet is demolished; there are to be no prisoners." After she said that, he saluted her and the communiqué was ended. He turned his chair around to face the soldier at the weapons post.

            "Corporal," he reiterated. "We are to leave no prisoners. Fire at will." The corporal smiled and began typing up the weapons system. Genta then pressed the button on his scouter until he saw in his visor a secure channel.

            "Attention fleet," he said to all ship captains. "We have been re-ordered by General Kelietya to leave no enemy ship intact. Your new orders are to fire at will!"

            Back at home planet, Goku and the soldiers in the room watched the screen as Genta's sub-fleet tore through the Cardarian enemy forces like a hot knife through butter. They were getting beaten before, but after Kelietya's orders, the Cardarian attack fleet was getting ripped apart. Despite fighting in self-defense, he felt bad for the enemy, as he usually would. Goku silently made a small prayer for the individual enemy soldiers who'd be denied a future because they were brought—some against their better will and judgment—into a battle they might not have wanted. Even so, he knew that what must be done must be done. As the battle was drawing to a close, there was a knocking on the door.

            "Hello?" a voice from behind the door yelled. "Can I please come in? I have news for you!" Goku opened the door, and in walked Bulma. She had a look on her face as if she had a secret. Could she have some new creation that would do something?

            "What news do you have?" Kelietya said. Bulma pulled out a piece of rolled-up paper. She had a big grin on her face as she unraveled the plans.

            "The weapon-science division has finished four working models of the pulsar satellite weapon," she explained. "This, if implemented properly, could buy us as much as three weeks of preparation time."

            Goku's eyes perked up. "How so?" he asked.

            She smiled menacingly at him. "This satellite will orbit a planet cloaked, then locate a weak point in the planet's electromagnetic field. Once it detects this point, it detonates itself directly above that point. This releases a massive discharge of E.M.P directly through to the core of the planet, effectively barbecuing anything with an electronic circuit anywhere on the planet's surface or beneath it even."

            Kelietya caught on. "If we were to use this on Planet Muitola, it would destroy their troop deployers. They'd be unable to launch forces until they finished a month-long repair of seven thousand troop deployers."

            Goku flinched. "They have…that many?" he said, shocked.

            She turned to him, eyebrows lowered. "What? Do any problems arise from that?" she inquired.

            "Yes!" he shouted. "If they have that many, we can't simply go after Fenzi! We must track down their home planet!"

            All the soldiers—Kelietya included—gasped. The room suddenly attained one of those unbearable silences where everyone was staring at him as though he was nuts. He scanned the room; not a single facial expression in his favor.

            "You cracked?!" Kelietya rasped, surprised he would make such a statement. "We could never take Planet Cardaria! They have thousands of defense mechanisms in their solar system; one of them is a moon-size space station with the capacity to destroy a small planet!"

            "You mean the Dark Moon?" asked Bulma. "We intercepted an enemy communiqué from Planet Cardaria which explained—in detail—all of the station's strengths and weaknesses. If one is to fire a powerful energy beam through the main hole from which the death cannon fires, it pierces the core, causing the station to spontaneously explode. Also, if you disrupt the energy flow to the same core, the ship cannot maintain its own gravitational control, and plows into the nearest planet, destroying both."

            Goku smiled; this would allow his plan to continue.

            "Like Kakarot said," Kelt interjected, "the Cardarian fleet is tremendous. If we are to create a lasting peace and independence for our new Saiyan empire, we're going to have to track down their home planet of Cardaria."

            "Then it's agreed," Goku concurred. "We attack planet Muitola tomorrow."

            "The attack must go down in the morning," Kelietya said, "We must do this in order to catch them off-guard."

            Goku sat on his chair in the room where the action was monitored. He saw on the screen the layout of the plan he had helped formulate. From the front, there was four ships—all cloaked—guiding the satellite to its destination. From the dark side of the planet, another fleet, which also was cloaked, was stationed in case that the first fleet was targeted. In the war room, all fingers were clenched, each person eagerly hoping the battle would come across smoothly.

            "We're stationed at Planet Muitola," said a Saiyan commander. "Upon your orders, Kakarot sir, we will deploy the satellite."

            Goku carefully monitored the screen. "Wait a minute…" he said into his scouter, "wait for it…NOW!"

            The ship's laser guide system released the satellite from its laser connection with the main ship, and the satellite quickly activated itself. After a quick cloaking, took its place in the orbit around planet Muitola. Goku, who was intensely watching the situation, waited as the satellite scanned the planet's energy field for the weakest point. The four minutes that it took the satellite to scan the energy sphere of the planet, was probably one of the longest four minutes of the lives of the crew. Once it transmitted a signal back to the war room on home planet, Goku quickly pressed the button on his scouter.

            "Saiyan fleet commander," Goku ordered, "arm the weapon."

            A few intense seconds went by. All I's had been dotted, all t's crossed; all that was left now was the event. From the live video feed of the planet, a brilliant white flash suddenly lit up the sky, and then went dark for a few seconds. Once the feed came on, the zoomed-in video feed of the planet revealed something startling: the device worked, not leaving a single electric light on anywhere on the planet. Kelietya stomped her foot victoriously.

            "Bang!" she cried. "We gain the upper hand!"

            Kelt smiled. "I can't believe the damn thing worked," he said with folded arms. "But thanks to it, the enemy can't attack for another month or so!"

            "Leaving us open for an attack on Cardaria," Goku finished. "How are the troops? Can you ask Piccolo and the others how the training is going?"

            Just then, commander Teneko entered the room. The look on his face indicated that he had positive news on his mind.

            "Don't worry, Kakarot," he replied. "The training is going along just fine. We can begin any possible counter-strikes tomorrow at the earliest."

            Goku smiled. "Excellent!" he cried. "This, my friends, is why we are such a superior race!" Goku's call made the soldiers in the room leap to their feet in excitement and throw their fists up in the air. Kelietya smiled; of all the people she'd served, Goku was most certainly the best she'd seen. It was incredible to her that someone with as little leadership experience as him was able to so readily slide into his role as the king of the mighty Saiyan Empire. Then again, he was probably the finest Saiyan that ever lived, period.

            "So, Kakarot sir," Kelietya inquired. "What shall we do tomorrow?"

            Goku smiled; his course of action was the obvious one. "General Kelietya," he said, "we shall go for moon Fenzi tomorrow."

            "An obvious course of action," entered Kelt. "This is the day the mighty Saiyan Empire finally renames itself as the best empire in the universe!"

            As Goku left the chamber to talk with  his friends, Kelietya ran up to him. For some strange reason, she had a tear in her eye. She wiped the tear from her eye and cleared her throat. "Kakarot sir," she exclaimed, her tone indicating these were tears of joy. "You are, without a doubt, the finest king that a general could ever serve under. I am glad I came to Earth despite the judgment of my commander, Teneko. Otherwise, I may never have met you!" Captured in the moment by joy, she threw her arms around Goku and held him as tightly as she could, which threatened to choke him. Instead of pushing her away, he found himself giving in, and letting the moment continue. Before he could say anything, however, she grabbed his head and pulled him forward, kissing him passionately on the lips for a brief moment. Halfway through, he pushed her away.

            "Sorry, Kelietya," he replied, "I just can't. I can't kiss you because I'm married."

            This statement seemed to upset Kelietya, who began to argue his beliefs. "But Kakarot!" she cried. "Saiyan ways are different! People can kiss people other than their wives because we don't have divorces!"

            "MY morals aren't that way," Goku refuted. "Besides, I pledged to be faithful to Chakuri. I will NOT break my…" She did not let him finish. She yanked him closer, and kissed him passionately again. Unlike last time, however, he did not have time to push her away before Chakuri came up to the area. It seemed the tables had turned; this time, it was neither her cheating, nor was it a nightmare. Goku forced Kelietya away, and a look of utter shock moved onto both Goku's and Chakuri's faces. "No!" Goku cried. "It's not like this at all!"

            Chakuri's tears began to flow like mini rivers. "YOU SON OF A B…!" she shouted, but her tears choked the words from her tongue like a vice. All at once, she turned and dashed away in the opposite direction. Goku, who was desperately trying to explain himself, tried to run, but fell flat on his face. When he got up, an angry glare from him was directed at Kelietya. Righting himself, he took off running after Chakuri.

            An playfully mischievous grin spread itself across Kelietya's face.


	7. Chapter Seven

Definition of Pride

By Moonraker One

Chapter Seven - The Struggle Begins

            Chakuri did not like what she had seen back outside the war room. How could her own sister Kelietya betray her by having an affair with Kakarot? Kelietya was always the moral one of the family. Chakuri was the one who was complained at most by their father for mischief, so this didn't make sense. The hallway full of people moved to the side as Chakuri dashed by at top speed. She felt Goku's ki signature as he pursued her eagerly, but didn't care; there was no way she was going to hear lies from him. Goku sped up and thus appeared directly in front of Chakuri.

            "There's a point at which you have to listen to my side," said Goku. Chakuri angrily looked him straight in the eye.

            "You little…!" she screeched, then slammed her fist hard into his gut. His eyes grew wide and he clutched his abdomen, but was still able to grab her as she tried to run away again.

            "Read…my mind…" he said, trying to catch his breath. She raised an eyebrow; what was this?

            "I…can't hide the truth from you if you read my mind," he replied. She didn't want to at first, but he grabbed her right hand and pulled it to his forehead. Despite her being reluctant to figure the truth out, she saw his thoughts anyway. The subconscious mind revealed the truth as the person had seen it, and the truth could not be altered by the conscious mind, so she saw it as he knew it to be. Among the thoughts, she saw that deep inside, he didn't want to cheat on her with Kelietya. It gave her some relief.

            "I still don't understand the kiss," she questioned. "Why'd you kiss her?"

            "I DIDN'T!" screamed Goku, causing everyone in the hallways—some of which didn't really care—to stop and stare. The uneasy silence was cut short by Kelietya's appearance.

            "Of course you did!" refuted Chakuri. "I saw you!"

            "I forced him into it," entered Kelietya. "I grabbed him and pulled him towards me."

            Chakuri seemed dumbfounded by this. "Why would you do such a thing?" she asked.

            "To piss you off," replied Kelietya. "You have too much fun."

                Chakuri rolled her eyes. "You're such an ass sometimes, sis," she shot back. "Here we are in a war and you're messing with my relationships."

            "Oh shut up," Kelietya said. "You always had the loyal boyfriends. I had only one date ever, and he was a piece of trash."

            Chakuri turned to Goku. "Okay, Goku," she boomed, mildly angrily. "I'll let you off the hook, but you DAMN well better not kiss my sister again."

                "Can't we all just get back to what we were doing before?!" Goku yelled. "We've got a more important thing to worry about!"

            They realized that he was right; they had to worry about the war before they could worry about anything else. The war, as it was, was shaping up well. Goku knew that the real battles hadn't happened yet, so they had much to think about. He knew that he was an incredible tactician when it came to one on one battles, but here in war, his skills were tested to their breaking point. The enemy was numerous, skilled, and had years of preparation. His own people were only recently brought back together, low in quantity, and only as skilled as a partial-week of training could get them. Not that he didn't trust his friends to teach the Saiyan soldiers how to better fight; it was merely that he had never faced this before. Initially, he was questioning his own skills, and now he was questioning how such a feeling of brotherhood could exist among a people who were well-known to be loners. The reason he couldn't have imagined the Saiyan man's desire to aid his fellow man was because he'd seen too many examples of Saiyans that didn't care of others. He figured he was the exception to the rule.

            "Well, Chakuri," Kelietya asked. "Where were you headed?"

            She glared at her sister. "I was headed to the mess hall to eat," Chakuri replied. "I haven't eaten in too long and I was getting to be hungry. If it wasn't for a certain SOMEONE I'd still be in the mood to eat right now!"

            "Oh, quit complaining," Kelietya said. "I wasn't trying to play the seductress. How about the three of us get back to what we were doing?"

            "Screw that," Goku shouted excitedly. "I'd like to get some training! I've sat down enough. Time for us to see how powerful we really are."

            Chakuri seemed to like that concept. "We can fight in the Artificial Setting Room," concurred both sisters. "It'll allow us to utilize our utmost power without damaging the equipment or the planet!" To this agreement, all three seemed to like. Goku stood in the middle of the two sisters and draped his arms around both, leading them on towards the chamber. It was quite an event, but Kelietya somehow managed to get her sister to believe it was just a prank.

            Everyone, by this point, knew that what they had prepared for was to be used to everyone's advantage. All had trained for what was the single longest week of their lives, and all the preparation boiled down to this. It all came down to who was the best, who was the strongest, who was the smartest. The Cardarians had a vast number advantage, and they had years to prepare for any combat that would ensue. They had their only enemies in a very strategic position that could end their foes' existences forever. The Saiyans had only one thing to them that was unique to their empire: they had the absolute need to be free. It allowed them to be more of a united race.

            Onboard the ship that was leading the charge towards Fenzi, General Metano's knew his troops' training would make them more than ready for the struggle that was about to begin. The first of five different energy mini-moon stations was to be their first target. Each one of his fleet divisions were coordinated to attack a different mini-moon once he gave the signal, but this one had to fall first. A new weapon had been developed; a personal cloaker. Now, not only could you cloak a troop deployer, you could also cloak yourself. This made sneak invasions far simpler. The best thing is, the Cardarians didn't even know such technology could exist. Metano knew this should very well be simple. After the energy stations were decimated, Kelt's troops—who, next to Kelietya's, were considered the finest of the species—would launch the main invasion of Fenzi. Metano ran the plan over with his troops.

            "Alright," he said to everyone through his scouter. "The energy producing plant has five main checkpoints. We must take these out first in order to get to the enemy installation. Commander Felitra?"  
            "Yes sir?" inquired the commander of Metano's third troop transporter.

            "You," he explained, "are to lead the attack on the second mini-moon. Once I give my signal to you, you are to go about the destruction of the complex with the same pattern I used on the first one. Once accomplished, signal Commander Slaktro to do the exact same with the third."

            "Do you understand, everyone?" asked Metano. "Once my personal crew has finished our job, Felitra will work on the second. Slaktro will destroy the third, Leekk will take down the fourth, and Niid, the final one. This MUST go down in this exact order. Understood?"

            They did.

            Back at home planet, in the war room, Goku and Chakuri and the soldiers of the chamber were giving a constant watch to the screen which had a visual explanation of the mission so far. In the far corner of the screen, near Fenzi's position, a small gray mass was approaching from off the screen. Goku squinted in confusion. It couldn't be what he was thinking, could it?

            "Lieutenant!" he ordered. "Zoom in on that gray blob I see on the screen." A few buttons were typed, and then, the screen zoomed in on the mass. Goku was right, against his better wishes; there were Cardarian fighter ships approaching Metano's position. That was impossible; Goku knew Saiyan cloaking mechanisms were the most advanced in the universe. Then, a far more horrible sight appeared.

            "Dear Kami," Goku whispered. "The bastards know where he's at even though they can't see or sense him!" Bulma suddenly burst through the door. Commander Teneko was behind her, and General Sekina was held in a tight grip by him.

            "Kakarot!" shouted the big Namek, holding the high-ranking Saiyan in a full nelson. "Using a scouter-tap device, we traced a traitorous communiqué from within General Sekina's private chamber!"

            Goku looked with disgusted anger at his subordinate officer. "So, you've betrayed us all," Goku said.

            "I…I…please let me…" he tried to plea, but Goku wouldn't allow him. The Saiyan king angrily thrust his fist into the gut of Sekina. When the Saiyan fell to his knees, Goku lifted him two feet off the ground by his neck.

            "Within our own government," Goku said, more disappointed than angry and staring the man in his eyes. "I can't believe you'd sell us out while we're fighting for our own independence. You bastard."

            "Don't kill me," coughed the General.

            Goku thrust him to the ground, then turned to Teneko. "Remove all of his medals," instructed Goku, "all of his awards, everything. Remove his clothing; he's not worthy of Saiyan attire."

            "What punishment shall he receive?" inquired Chakuri.

            Goku looked down at the traitor. "The sovereign government of the Saiyan Empire orders you to leave its territories forever. If you ever return, you face prompt execution by your peers. I hope the enemy will take you in amongst them. If not, it doesn't concern me." He nodded at Teneko, and the Namek grabbed the villain by the scruff of his neck and drug him out of the chamber. Goku didn't care what happened to him, and neither did Chakuri; she, however, knew what would happen. Sekina would make his plea to which ever King Cold ruled the Cardarian empire this time, but would face prompt execution. Goku had just mastered the most difficult technique of ruling a kingdom; the INdirect death sentence.

            The lieutenant suddenly shouted, "King Kakarot sir! Enemy communication intercepted!"

            Goku looked on his scouter; it was the new king Cold of the Cardarian empire. "It seems you've located my spy in your order," he rused. "But even so, your forces will soon face complete annihilation." The message was then cut off, but not before the lieutenant noticed something bizarre at the end of it, and forwarded the message to the analysis department for the detection of possible hidden messages within the mockery. Goku was trying to think of a way to deal with this threat.

            "Kakarot sir!" Teneko said, rushing back in. "I know how to pull out Metano's troops and stop the enemy advancement!"

            "You do?" Goku responded. "How?"

            Teneko seemed to know something, and Goku just had to figure out what it was. The Namek had to have at least a few hundred years more experience in strategizing than the king himself, so it would make sense that he would see something that Goku didn't. It just seemed insurmountable.

            "If you intercept the enemy attacking fleet before they reach one parsec of Metano's position," Teneko explained, "you can halt them long enough to pull out his troops, and then organize a fleet to attack Fenzi."

            Goku raised an eyebrow. "How can we attack Fenzi if we can't destroy the energy plants?" he asked, trying to make sense of it all.

            "That's where I come in," entered Bulma. She handed him a piece of paper, which he unfolded. Upon examination, he noticed that the blueprint handed to him was a description of some device that you attach to a ship. "This wondrous little piece of science is an electromagnetic sub-level scrambler."

            "In idiot's language, please," requested the confused Saiyan.

            Bulma rolled her eyes. "Goku," she began.

            "Kakarot sir," corrected Teneko. Bulma rolled her eyes again.

            "Kakarot SIR," she said, rephrasing herself. "This, when attached to the ship's energy field generator, allows the ship to pass through a force field as though it weren't even there! Furthermore, it allows you to remain cloaked in the process!"

            Goku stamped his foot. "Bulma," he excitedly yelled, "you're a genius. Have you implemented this in any of the new ships yet?"

            "So far, Kelietya's division has had theirs installed first."

            Goku turned to the panel. "Lieutenant!" ordered Goku. "Where is the position of Kelietya's troops?"

            "They are spread throughout our territory protecting our outlying colonies," explained the lieutenant, "but there is a company of twelve thousand within five seconds of Moon Base Fenzi. Shall I order the attack?" Goku shook his head.

            "Wait for it," he announced. "Teneko! Your superior officer Kelietya is currently busy with leading a separate attack on Moon Base Kelsor in the main of Cardarian territory. You shall head down to the docking bay and take a troop transporter."

            Teneko smiled. "I…get to lead my own troops into combat?!" He was quite excited by this concept.

            Goku patted him on the shoulder. "Your troops are currently onboard S.I.T. seventeen," he explained. "Your troops will stop the Cardarian advancement and make sure Metano pulls out of there. Afterwards, you will take command of Kelietya's unattended division and lead them into the primary assault on Fenzi, taking the Moon and also taking prisoners."

            The walking mass of green muscle stood at attention—a whole foot and two inches taller at attention—and saluted. "You can depend on me, sir!"

            _I'd hope so,_ Goku thought. _Right now, a hundred thousand soldiers' lives depend on your quick thinking._

            Sub-commander Jeel-Ort of the Cardarian attacking fleet smiled as his ships closed in on Metano's troops; damn these monkeys for fighting back. Why wouldn't they just roll over and accept their inevitable demise like before? It was strange to him why they should even fight back. So their new king was the Super Saiyan. So he defeated the former king and both his sons. Did that matter? No. One good surprise attack on Saiya and the Holy Cardarian Empire would be back on top again.

            "Men," Jeel-Ort said into his scouter. "We're coming in so close to these monkeys we can smell 'em. Let's take them all down!" The cheering he heard was cut short by an angry looking face appearing in his scouter visor. Who the hell was this? It wasn't Saiyan; it was…Namekian.

            "This is Co-Commander Teneko of the Royal Saiyan Allied Forces," Teneko introduced. "You have been ordered to leave this area at once. If not, we will open fire upon you, leaving no one intact."

            "Why don't you go suck yourself, Namek scum?!" shouted Jeel-Ort.

            "You've just incurred the wrath of the mightiest empire in this galactic system," Teneko said. "You will now meet your previous king in HELL!"

            Jeel-Ort scoffed at this green man's claim, but was soon rocked by a jolt to his fighter. He stared down with shock at his panel; an invisible energy missile had struck the engine of his ship. And that was considered a miss! Oh by the order of Cold! The green bastard wasn't lying!

            "That's it men!" called out Teneko. "Fire upon those horned pieces of caca!"

            "Our troops are destroying the enemy fleet, sir," reported a non-commissioned officer. "However, Cardarian reinforcements are coming. Soon we will be outnumbered."

            Teneko stood up. "Open the pod bay doors on my signal," he said. "I'll take care of it myself."

            "Sir!" scoffed a corporal. "You don't mean you're gonna…"

            "Yes," ordered Teneko. "I'm going to personally give those morons a wake up call."

            With that, he left the main deck, and placed his highest-ranked subordinate in charge while he was down. He ran down the hallway and through the doors, and into the pod bay. Eagerly, he walked down the long hangar and stood at the very edge, directly behind a gigantic adamantium door. He pulled off the neckband, smiled as he felt his power rise, and created a field of ki around himself.

            "Open the doors now," ordered Teneko. As the gigantic metal doors swing slowly open, the entire Cardarian attacking fleet was seen approaching his position. He shouted on his scouter for all Saiyan craft nearby to return to docking, and this cleared a path for him. He put forth an extended palm.

            "No, he wouldn't DARE," said Jeel-Ort, seeing the lone figure standing at the edge of the ship's bay. "NO! HE CAN'T!"

            Oh he could. And he did. One powerup and a squeeze of energy later, and a massive wall of ki enveloped the entire enemy fleet. The doors shut and he proceeded back up to the ship's main deck. "Inform Metano that he is to get his sorry ass out of there," repeated Teneko to his second-in-command. "Then, make sure that the rest of our fleet is ready for an attack on Base Fenzi."

            The second-in-command saluted. "Yes sir!" he replied, bursting with pride. Teneko was amazed; there seemed to be no limit to the amount of pride displayed by these Saiyans. Metano's fleet was pulled out at the last minute before they would've otherwise gone straight into a trap. Metano was flabbergasted that Sekina was the one who was the traitor; he knew there was someone who he was trying to locate that was transmitting secret data to the enemy, but he never would have guessed that the one was the person that he'd been friends with most of his life. Metano, being a spirited fighter, was eager to rejoin the fight at any opportunity that surfaced. He took his fleet and moved closer to homeplanet until such time that he got orders to do otherwise.

            "Alright men," Teneko explained over his scouter. "We have passed through the enemy base's energy field. Soon, we will land on the homeplanet, and cloaked, we will launch a full scale attack on all of their forces. With any luck, and the mercy of the gods, we should easily decimate their entire forces. A traitor has revealed to the enemy our plan, but he has not taken everything into account, so our enemy should not realize our position until such time that we attack."

            The entry into Fenzi's airspace went without a hitch. Teneko's fleet consisted of seven different ships, each one carrying a large number of soldiers. Using Bulma's brilliant technology, they could now attack their enemy and they'd have the best possible advantage: the enemy could not see, hear, or even sense their presence. "Okay, sergeant," Teneko said to the Saiyan at the weapons post. "Locate the main troop transporters of the enemy and take them out first. This must be done first so that once we attack, they cannot launch a retaliatory attack."

            The order was relayed to the other ships under Teneko's command. In a few minutes, the fleet had dispersed across the moon's surface, and was targeting each of the major troop transporters responsible for enemy attacks. It took only but a few minutes' time worth of coordination, but once it was done, the main crippling attack could thus begin.

            "Now, my dedicated fleet," Teneko ordered, "fire at will!" The response was glorious for the Saiyan side. Back at homeplanet, Goku and the others who were watching through the live video feed were cheering as the enemy's military was decimated.  There were lots of enemy troop transporters, and each one was taking either irreparable damage, or being vaporized completely. Upon the destruction of the troop transporters, the next target of the Saiyan sneak attack was the soldiers' barracks. For these, the individual Saiyan solders left Teneko's ships and entered secretly and began taking soldiers as prisoners. Electronic equipment was being decimated, emergency weapons systems were firing but not knowing where to fire at, and thousands upon thousands of Cardarian troops were either being taken against their will or surrendering voluntarily. Even though Goku and his fellow generals and commanders knew not to get too cocky, they couldn't help but celebrate at the thought of this major victory.

            The pressure was mounting. In the palace of the Cardarian King, Cold the seventeenth was pacing back and forth as the horrible news of the loss of Moon Base Fenzi was hitting his ears. He thought at first that the Saiyans were going to invade, but they would be held back very easily. Instead, much to his horror, he found out that the entire moon was taken; for the Cardarian side, it was not only a complete loss, but it was a disaster. Nothing this bad had ever happened to the Holy Cardarian Empire.

            "I can't believe this is happening," Cold said angrily at his general. "Colediac, how could half the military not have staved off the Saiyan advancement?!"

            The general was shaking in his boots. "S…sir!" said Colediac, "They…they seemed to be not there, even though they were."

            "That's nonsense!" Cold boomed. "Cloaking devices will not allow you to move or fight back while the mechanism is activated! Even if they have advanced technology, did you manage to get a downed ship?"

            The general nervously shook his head. "S…sir, we had no chance," he said, making himself seem small.

            "Because of your division's failure," shouted Cold, "the entire Cardarian attack force—one which would've allowed us to exterminate those stupid monkeys quickly—is FUBAR! Colonel, escort Colediac to the torture chamber. I want him to die slowly and painfully."

            "S…Sir!" rasped Colediac as he was drug away. "I can't help it that they had superior technology."

            "Maybe you can't," Cold replied, "but at least your death will make me feel a little better."

            Back on homeplanet, Goku and the others in the room were preparing for the final attack that would take place as soon as possible. It would go down before the day was up, and if all went well, it would be the decider of the war. Goku desperately wanted a war that was short and ended quickly, before there was any chance to rack up a large casualty list. He had more faith in Saiyan pride now than he ever did before, and perhaps that was the whole point of fighting. He was amazed by how quickly they'd gone for the enemy's Achilles' heel, and soon, the final battle would go down.

            Teneko and his troops had returned to Saiyan space within the main solar system so as to receive final orders on the war decider. Kelietya, who was away fighting a battle defending a Saiyan colony, was amazed when news of Fenzi's fall hit her ears; this meant that in only a week or so's time, they could already make a final attack on Planet Cardaria. She'd struggled for years—decades, in fact—to end the Cardarian grip on Saiyan life, to little avail. Here came Kakarot, who was inexperienced in leading troops, and they were already near victory with the help of only a few people. The technology that had been created By Bulma was ninety-nine percent of the cause for their new advantages in combat, because prior to her, they had to fight the wars the conventional way by using sheer man power.

            "Here's the plan," Goku discussed with the generals through his scouter. "Kelt; your troops will enter in through the eastern side of the Cardarian solar system and knock out their energy fields, which are the primary defense means of their homeplanet. Kelietya; your troops will weaken and destroy the defense guns and cannons that are stationed on various battle stations around their homeworld."

            "What of the Dark Moon?" inquired Metano. "Don't we have to destroy that first?"

            "Yes," Goku said, his eyes growing dim. "You will have to have a section of your troops distract the main energy cannon of the station while a separate fleet goes in and disrupts the core. I pray to the gods that your troops don't get fired upon, but if they do, it will be a sacrifice that we had to make."

            That didn't tide over well. "Kakarot sir!" he cried. "You couldn't possibly tell me to put my troops on the chopping block and pray that a different section of my troops gets to the core in time!"

            Goku shook his head, and could've started crying, but he held back his emotions. "I hate to say it," replied the gentle king, "but this is our only way. It's either a small group of troops risk being destroyed or our entire planet will be decimated. We can't go this far just to have history repeat itself!"

            "Yes…sir," Metano agreed, reluctantly.

            "What of me?" a voice from behind Goku said. He looked over, and it was Teneko. The eager Namekian was ready for combat just as much as any other.

            "You, my dear commander," he said, smiling, "will take the remainder of the troops and lead the primary invasion of Cardaria!"

            Teneko's eyes grew wide again. "Kakarot sir!" he cried. "You mean it?! I get to lead the invasion!?"

            Goku put his hand on the Namek's shoulders. "Teneko, you are one of the finest soldiers I've ever seen," he reassured him. "You've helped me come up with some of my best strategies in this war. I'm certain that you are ready for anything. You have my authorization to do anything that will win us the war."

            Teneko walked out of the room with pride; this was his chance to do something he'd never been able to do before. This was his chance to prove himself to someone other than Kelietya.


	8. Chapter Eight

Definition of Pride

By Moonraker One

Chapter Eight - Horrifying Precision

            This was IT.

            All the week or so of training and preparation came down to this one teeth-clenching finale. It was this battle that would be the deciding factor of Goku's tenure as king. If he came this far, only to fail, it would be curtains for him. On the opposite end of the scale, if this was in fact a wondrous victory for the newly-revived Saiyan empire, he would more than likely be the single best king of all time. His generals each had their orders, and even the individual soldiers knew what to do. Naturally, there would be soldiers who were gripers, and there were also soldiers who had no faith in Goku because he wasn't a Vegeta, but that wouldn't matter. Everyone was above such pathetic labels and concepts, even the former prince himself. Kelt had his troops stationed on the outer area of the Cardarian solar system, waiting for the right moment. For him, the right moment was the moment where the radar went down.

            "Does everyone have an idea as to where they're supposed to be?" Kelt asked over his scouter. His troops were so sure of the fact that they were that they didn't need to respond him. He smiled as he sat in the leader's chair on the main deck of his warship. Each Saiyan warship contained enough room for at least a million soldiers, and his was full almost to capacity. Kelietya, his daughter and fellow general, was stationed on the southwestern side. She'd wait for her dad to give his signal so that she could destroy their secondary defenses. She'd quickly take care of the outlying defense guns and cannons stationed on various battle stations and moons surrounding Planet Cardaria. The reason she had to be out of there quickly is because they'd surely attract the attention of the Cardarian silver bullet: the Dark Moon. Bulma knew the inners and outers of the planet-shaped station, and even she was fearful of what it was fully capable of. Never before had a space station had such sheer destructive force.

            It seemed like an eternity. Every twenty-four hours, the "C" Cardarian planet did a full radar sweep of the entire main solar system, and if Kelt even farted inside the system during the sweep, he'd have the full force of the remaining Cardarian troops on him before he could excuse himself. He'd have to wait the full twelve minutes that the sweep took. Waiting, as he could tell, was far better than the alternative; if their equipment could scan faster, they'd scan more frequently. Kelt, also was impressed; he'd have gone for the throat of the Cardarian military. Goku, on the other hand, went straight for the balls FIRST then the throat. It was impressive.

            "NOW!" shouted Kelt into his scouter once it was reported that the scan had finished. Thank god he'd forgotten to press the button to send out the message, for just at that moment, a face appeared on his scouter. It was the face of an enemy, and Kelt could see in the background that he was being fired upon as he was fleeing.

            "Wait!" screamed Colediac. "It isn't over! They're delaying it a few more seconds to throw you off!"

            "Why should I trust you?" Kelt boomed. "You're the enemy."

            Colediac smiled; this monkey wasn't as retarded as Cold made their species out to be. Or, even if he was, he certainly was skilled in the art of war. "You have no basis on which to trust me," replied Colediac. "It is your decision, however."

            The lieutenant turned to Kelt. "He doesn't appear to be lying, sir," reassured the lieutenant. "Our more advanced scanners indicate that they haven't shut it off yet. They've only lowered the radiation so we who sense ki can't feel it."

            "No," Kelt replied. "He's lying. I'll admit it's a hell of a show they're putting on."

            "Sir!" protested the commissioned officer. "Our scanners indicate…"

            "I KNOW what the scanners indicate!" Kelt boomed. "It's a lie! Send the message to proceed with the attack!"

            It was one hell of a gutsy call, and even the Saiyan lie detector himself wasn't positive of his choice when he gave the call. He very well could have screwed it all up right there. However, as his warships passed through the enemy territory, he had made the right call after all. It impressed his subordinates that he should know that their scanners were misreporting it. His primary warship landed on one of four moons that provided power to the shield. Keeping the cloaking device at full, he relayed a secret message to all his troops with his scouter. He knew that precision here was crucial; he had to make sure all moon stations were destroyed simultaneously. If one was destroyed before another, it would give them away to the enemy.

            "We are all facing the plants providing the energy, correct?" his subordinates all agreed to his statement. "I will count to three. When I reach three, fire full-powered main cannons at the tip of the plant. The resulting energy disruption will destroy the plant, and the shield on enemy home planet as well."

            The subordinates piloting the other warships poised themselves, and waited for the final countdown.

            "One," began Kelt, "two. May the Dai Kaioshin's mercy be with us, THREE!"

            "Sir!" a commander said to King Cold. "Our defense shield has fallen!"

            King Cold thrust his huge frame from his throne, and stared in utter confusion at the screen. "All four moon stations destroyed at once!?" he shrieked. "Monkeys! My cousin's son should have dealt with them!" He had no idea that his cousin's son was as hastily defeated as he was. It was also, to him, quite embarrassing; His cousin, the cocky, arrogant King Cold defeated with little or no effort from a Saiyan. The Saiyan was a SUPER Saiyan, but was a monkey none the less.

            "I told you, you bastard," Colediac said, bursting into the chamber of war. "They'd be the downfall of us. You haven't even lasted as long as your cousin did." Cold was tired of this idiot who was constantly bickering with him; he blasted a neat hole in between Colediac's eyes.

            _Thank you, father,_ Kelietya thought as she prepared to launch her invasion. She smiled as she sat in her seat; what was about to happen was what she'd dreamed of for centuries. She had the privilege of living to see the fall of the evil Cardarian Empire. She pressed the button on her scouter.

            "My men," she announced, "invade! Destroy all defense cannons and guns, making sure to be quick about it!"

            Silently, invisibly, at least a dozen ships entered the enemy territory and dispersed, targeting a specific section of the system's defenses. The defense cannons were armed and firing, but could not target the much faster, incredibly well-cloaked Saiyan warships. Even the blasts that were connecting were doing damage that was comparatively minor. By contrast, the Saiyan troops were causing far more damage to the enemy's cannons. Sometimes, the defenses were easy to spot, visible on mini-stations and barren moons. Other times, the moons and stations were either guarded well or the moons forested. In such cases, the entire station or moon would be vaporized. In the entire five-minute destroying of the enemy defenses, only a single ship took severe damage. Even then, none had died, only gotten injured.

            The terrible Cardarians had been crippled. Their defenses smashed. It was all conducted with horribly accurate and swift precision. One ship struck, and another would strike exactly after the other. Also, there was not a single missed shot. If this type of strategy could've been implemented before, Kelietya would have done it and had no need for Goku and his allies at all. Now, it was time for the terrible aspect of it; Saiyans would have to be put on the chopping block, fully at the mercy of the enemy, protected only by the swift enactment of fellow forces. Metano didn't like it, but Goku was the king, and his plan was a great one.

            "Damn!" shouted Cold at his secondary officer. "We've got to enact the Dark Moon!"

            His secondary officer smiled menacingly. "You mean we get to stick it to those pieces of crap?!"

            Cold had an evil grin spread from ear to ear. "You bet!" he shouted. "Today, we reclaim ourselves! It seems history repeats itself."

            Metano realized from reconnaissance that something unspeakable was about to happen. Apparently, the data intercepted by Bulma was only part of the data. Metano learned, from a reliable source, that the Cardarians had predicted the interception of that message. There was one horrible feature of the Dark Moon other than its planet-annihilating power. If it gathered enough power, it could more than easily go through hyperspace just like a smaller ship. His face reached a look of utter shock as he stood up. "By the order of Kaioshin!" he shrieked. "Officer! Open an emergency secure line to King Kakarot!"

            The commissioned officer raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong!"

            "Planet Saiya is at risk!"

            Goku was eagerly watching the screen until a sudden message shot through the speakers.

            "King Kakarot, sir!" Metano's urgent voice shouted. "The Dark Moon has the ability to enter hyperspace! Planet Saiya is at immediate risk!"

            "Oh NO!" Goku shouted. Soldiers began freaking out.

            Metano, who was watching in horror as the Dark Moon was activated. The gigantic, lumbering station suddenly vanished into the darkness of hyperspace. No wonder the war had gone on so smoothly; they had little chance of winning from the start. He ordered his subordinate to immediately head back to home system, but realized the evil station would still reach the home planet before them. For only the second time in the mighty Saiyan's life,  he wiped tears from his eyes. He could sense doom coming.

            Chakuri hugged her husband. "What'll we do!?" she screeched, losing her cool.

            Goku stood up with a stone-faced angry look. "We give an example of Saiyan pride," he replied. "If you want to help, follow me." He then tore off running. It took him a few seconds, but he was already out of the complex and was out in the open area of the main courtyard.

            "It's time," replied General Melunoluk, leader of the Cardarian Dark Moon battle station. "Today, Frieza's destructive force has been captured in a space station. We shall destroy the Planet Saiya and all of our foes once and for all!" The station positioned itself, and began the slow task of charging up. It would take a few minutes, but they had no time to launch a ship-wise counterattack. Such would take too long and do too little.

            Goku flew up high in the Saiyan sky. He was up near the upper atmosphere, where he could see the evil space station. He thrust his arms high into the air. "My fellow Saiyans!" he shouted into his scouter. "I want all of you to give me your energy so that I may use it to destroy this evil space station! Only with your help can I do this!" He closed his eyes, and waited. At first, nothing happened. Then, as if a dam had been shattered, a flood of sheer power compressed itself into the form of a sphere. Goku was planning to use the Genki Dama. In a very short period of time, a gigantic ball formed over Goku's head. "To hell with you all!" he screamed in the direction of the enemy ship. "GENKI DAMA!" He launched the sphere with all his might.

            "FIRE!" screamed Melunoluk. The Dark Moon's main cannon fired a massive, thin beam of energy. When the mighty ball reached it, the laser was being repelled; this made Goku happy. Then, to his dismay, the laser pushed it back rapidly.

            "NOOO!" bellowed Goku, charging up a Kamehameha. "Ka…Me…Ha…Me…HA!"

            He thrust forward his mighty wave, which actually helped push back the ball at the ship, but he realized it was too little. Unable to face defeat, he charged up to his apex—Super Saiyan Four—in the blink of an eye, and poured all his ki into his Kamehameha. He felt the life drain out of him, but it would be for a wonderful cause. If he indeed died here he'd die a hero.

            "I refuse to accept THIS!" shouted Melunoluk, jamming his fist down. "Lieutenant, hyperspace us out of here!" The lieutenant hastily pulled back the lever, throwing the ship into hyperspace, exiting the system.

            Goku smiled as he plummeted lifelessly to the ground; they left, but they took the spirit bomb with them.

                On the other end of the hyperspace jump, Melunoluk was happy to see that he had evaded destruction. _I've only been set back a little bit,_ thought the evil general. _Once this station's back at full power, they can kiss their home planet goodbye!_ Then, as his grin had spread itself as far as it could across his face, he saw something on the screen. That ball of ki that had been sent their way they had taken with them.

            "Soldier!" cried Melunoluk. "Get us out of here! Hyperspace! Immediately!"

            The soldier rapidly tapped away at the keypad, but nothing was happening. The soldier didn't notice it, but there was a visible wet spot at the crotch of his pants.

            "S…Sir!" he cried helplessly. "The controls aren't responding! Two hyperspace jumps and the energy supply's drained!"

            A message suddenly shot through to Melunoluk's scouter. "Die…" uttered a weak and weary Goku. "…and make sure to take all your friends with you!"

            "NOOO!" screamed Melunoluk, right before a gigantic explosion rocked the entire station. The soldier at the main panel looked at the damage report screen; the ball of energy had ripped the core straight out of the ship, and penetrated the opposite side of the station. With a vast chunk of the ship's structural integrity gone, soldiers in posts near the hole were being sucked out into outer space. Much to the dismay of everyone on the ship, it began lurching uncontrollably into the one place closest to it—Planet Cardaria.

            "I want to see the enemy's defeat," Goku said as he was carried back to his palace. "Take me to the war room first. I want to watch my enemies get destroyed."

            Chakuri, who was aiding him back to the palace, smiled. "I'll patch it through to your scouter," she reassured him. She then pressed the button on his scouter twice, then pressed her own scouter button once. "General," she said into it. "Get all troops out of the vicinity of the Cardarian solar system, but direct a live video feed into King Kakarot's scouter."

            In his scouter, he saw the Cardarian planet fading into the distance as his forces rapidly draw back from the planet. What he could see, however, was that the station had crashed into the home planet, and was tearing up the planet's structural integrity. Inside he said a prayer for the innocent people that would die. Then, a few seconds after the planet disappeared from view altogether, a bright flash followed by a loud rumbling explosion lit up the entire mini-screen. Once back inside his palace, he received the word from one of his commissioned officers that the destruction to the enemy home system had been absolute; everything that was once the Cardarian system was nothing but vapor and memory. All battle planets, all defenses, all mobile troop stations; everything that had been was now not. _At least,_ he thought, _the civilians had been taken by an swift, painless death._

            There was no doubt now.

            At this stage, there was absolutely no doubt as to who was the superior race, and to who had won. The Saiyans had fought, putting absolutely everything on the line. For the longest time, they had everything only by when they could take it, even down to their very existence. Now, now that a war had been ended on a positive note, a giant Cardarian boot of oppression had been lifted. No, actually, it had been forcefully blown off, taking the entire foot and person with it. Kelietya was the most grateful. Once her ships landed safely on Planet Saiya, she got down on her knees and thanked the upper Kaioshins that Goku had been given to them.

            "I love you, Kakarot," said Chakuri, pressing her lips tightly and passionately against his.

            He wanted to reply, but was unable due to her forceful kiss. Standing there, Goku—or rather, Kakarot—realized that for years he'd never had a need for Saiyan pride. Now, much to his surprise, the one thing he never gave a second thought was what won the war for him and his people. This, he sensed, was the true definition of pride; caring for something so bad, that even if you don't want to, you risk yourself. Having a beautiful, age-proof wife didn't hurt either. Kelietya stood with folded arms, looking on the happy, married couple. As she watched the make-out session, she wiped a tear from her eyes.

            _Happily married for twenty or so years,_ she thought. _When'll I get something like that?_

            She shook her head and walked away. Not two steps in the opposite direction, someone in a hurry smashed right into her, knocking them both on their rears. She looked up at the person, and he looked up at her. Looking into each other's eyes, they saw something they liked in the other person, and felt a strange desire. Could it be love at first sight? No, they both believed such a thing couldn't exist. Both shook their head; _No way I'm attracted to this person,_ they both thought at the same time. It was one of those thoughts that you know is a lie. Instinctively, they both stood up. He asked for her name.

            "Oh," she said. "I'm Kelietya."

            "I think you're beautiful," he replied. "And by the way, my name's Trunks. You know, Vegeta's son?"

---The End (for now)---

That's it for this story.

Oh, and thanks goes to FanManga artist Robin of Locksley for that wonderful drawing. I wonder, what did you have in mind when drawing that? I understand Piccolo, standing tall and muscular (I'm not gay) after an intense battle, but here's the part that confuses me;

WHY DOES HE HAVE VIDEL'S HEAD ON HIS BODY!?!?

Oh well. If anyone has stranger drawings (I'm NOT EVEN going to comment about that eighteen-buu fusion picture by EvilKidBuuGoddess), please let me see them someday!

P.S. Please read and review my other story that I'm working on. It is called, "I'm Not Your Daughter". It is about Bulma, and she learns her father's not her father…


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